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GCHQ and NSA Targeted World Leaders, Private German Companies

Posted by Soulskill on from the caught-with-your-hand-in-the-cookie-jar dept.

Advocatus Diaboli sends this news from Der Spiegel: "Documents show that Britain's GCHQ intelligence service infiltrated German Internet firms and America's NSA obtained a court order to spy on Germany and collected information about the chancellor in a special database. Is it time for the country to open a formal espionage investigation? ... A secret NSA document dealing with high-ranking targets has provided further indications that Merkel was a target. The document is a presentation from the NSA's Center for Content Extraction, whose multiple tasks include the automated analysis of all types of text data. The lists appear to contain 122 country leaders. Twelve names are listed as an example, including Merkel's."

4 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. @people from the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Could someone from the US please tell me and convince me why Germany should still be friends with the USA? 'Cause the USA are certainly NOT behaving like a friend. More like a foe and bully who thinks Germany is an enemy.

    1. Re:@people from the US by sumdumass · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Nonsense. WWII could have been completely avoided if we knew about the plans to remilitarizr the rhine before it happened. A german genersl wrote in his diary that if any of the countries party to the treaty of versalles would have enforced the terms of the treaty, germany would have been stopped well before it became a war.

      We now know that Russia tried to colapse the US dollar in 2008 and china took steps to avoid it because of how heavily invested they were at the time. We know sanctions did not work on Iraq leaving war as a likely option because France and Russia exploited the oil for food program to get sweat deals on oil from Iraq in excess of sanctioned amounts with corruption in the UN reaching as far up as the family of Kofi Annan- the then secretary general of the UN (the highest ranking position there).

      Spying on friendly countries is a neccesity. Those counties mrntion were all friendly at the time. Taking actions specifically keeps conflicts to a smaller scale unlike with WWII. You have a lot to learn it would seem. Even your so called comparisons of school yard bullies are off.

  2. Re:Good for the NSA by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You are aware that the US still kinda depend on international trade, yes? And that said trade in the US is kinda dependent on exporting high tech equipment?

    Now, could you see that this could get mighty complicated if every nation out there starts to distrust everything remotely electronic coming from your place?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  3. Re:Spy agencies spying? by lonOtter · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Murderers murdering? Say it ain't so!

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    [End Of Line]