We are never surprised to discover that the arms trade uses the tactics of the military intelligence communities. Their interests are often linked and there is large scale traffic of employees from one to the other. Anger (or admiration depending on your political persuasion) might be a typical response to the discovery that BAE was spying on anti-arms trade groups [the Guardian] but not surprise. However, something seems utterly wrong with retail multi-nationals creating military intelligence units - despite their balance sheets operating on the scales of nation states. Wal-Mart seem to be creating a military intelligence unit, recruiting staff from the intelligence services with the intention of using their military contacts as part of their work.

[Business Week via Global Guerillas]

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