German Federal Police Helicopter Circles US Consulate

New submitter mwissel writes "The German Federal Police ('Bundespolizei') had sent out an helicopter in late August to fly over the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt and take photos from only 60 meters height — reportedly to search for spy antennae and other espionage related equipment on the building rooftops. A government spokesmen more or less confirmed the purpose of the flight, and it is said that Merkel's chief of staff, Ronald Pofalla, gave the order. This is remarkable, because Pofalla so far stood out with a very U.S.-friendly attitude in the debate around NSA surveillance programs. There was, of course, no word about any findings. It also remains unclear whether this was just plain provocation or a PR-stunt for the upcoming federal elections in Germany on September 22nd."

Comments

Of course it's a PR stunt

[mechtech256]

Germany has a very advanced military, it could certainly get photos of the roof of a building more covertly than sending out a helicopter and making a public statement.

Re:Of course it's a PR stunt

[cold fjord]

Every gov knows what Russia, the UK and US do with their "Consulate" floors

Oh come now A., the club is bigger than that! The majority of countries get in on the spy game at some level.
The Germans: The German Prism: Berlin Wants to Spy
Very involved in the current crisis: Assad did not order Syria chemical weapons attack, says German press
The Finns and Swedes can't be left out: Supo wants expanded net surveillance powers
Nor the French: France 'runs vast electronic spying operation using NSA-style methods'
The club is bigger still: Think US snooping is bad? Try Italy, India orCanada
Thousands of Russian spies in US: ex-CIA agent
Gordievsky: Russia has as many spies in Britain now as the USSR ever did
Chinese Spies Targeting U.K., MI5 Warns
But of course! Chinese use honeytraps to spy on French companies, intelligence report claims
Germany accuses China of industrial espionage
Germany targets Russian, Chinese spies
Spies in Sweden mostly from China, Russia, Iran
Number of Foreign Spies on the Rise in Finland
Austrian capital ‘filled with Iranian spies’
Foreign spies targeting Polish shale - Natural Gas Europe
Spain arrests three suspected of spying for Iran
Russia warns Ireland it will retaliate in spy row
FBI releases papers on Russian Irish spies in US - ‘Ghost Stories’

Sometimes the trails can get very complicated.

For some reason this video comes to mind: Its a Small World

Re:Of course it's a PR stunt

[Anonymous Coward]

Wrong. Read the Vienna Convention if you are seriously interested in it. Espionage from the embassy building is explicitly forbidden. And the belief that the embassy is US territory is very much wrong. All that the Vienna Convention says is that the embassy and all the property belonging to it are immune to search or seizure, and that agents of the host country may not enter without consent of the embassy staff, that's it.

The Art of Diplomacy

[Nefarious Wheel]

The Art of Diplomacy, it is said,
is saying "nice doggy" whilst you look about
for a large enough stick.

Re:But of course

[Omestes]

Trolling or genuine, who knows?

Seriously though, if we take your argument at face value, we're forced to ask; who gets to police us? Also, who made our judgements the so-called correct ones? And how can we actually claim authority over international morality when we're pretty much assholes, and do pretty much everything we condemn in others?

Re:But of course

[Pieroxy]

Believe me, the world needs a cop. And Americans make the best ones. If not for American occupation, Europe would still be in a constant state of war. And the Soviet Union did its part also, even if they are a bit hamfisted about it. I, for one, am very happy to see somebody enforcing some law and order on the planet. I don't think you understand the condition we would be in without it. American power is keeping the peace. You should be very grateful that you can sleep as comfortably as you do.

Americans aren't enforcing law and order on the planet. They are enforcing law and order when it suits them for their economical and geopolitical interests. It's just manipulative police, nothing to do with law and order.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:This article caused me to have a vision :

[Alioth]

Actually, Greece has been fucked over by the Greek government and the complicity of Wall Street. When joining the euro, Wall Street (Goldman Sachs, mainly) actively helped the government conceal the level of debt (which would disqualify them from being in the euro). The eurozone didn't do their full due diligence due to the breathless headlong rush to get the Euro under way, making it ridiculously easy for the Greeks to hide their debt problem.

And now it has come back to bite the eurozone (and the Greeks much harder) on the ass.