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German Intelligence Spying On Allies, Recorded Kerry, Clinton, and Kofi Annan

Posted by Soulskill on from the turnabout-is-fairly-played-out dept.

cold fjord writes: According to Foreign Policy, "The revelation that Germany spies on Turkey, a NATO member, should dispel any notion that spying on allies violates the unwritten rules of international espionage. ... For nearly a year, the extent of NSA surveillance on German leaders ... has drawn stern rebuke from the German political and media establishment. ... Merkel went so far as to publicly oust the CIA station chief in Berlin. 'Spying among friends is not at all acceptable,' Merkel said. ... [C]alls made by Secretary of State John Kerry and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were accidentally recorded. ... 'It's a kind of delightful revelation given the fact that the Germans have been on their high horse.' Christian Whiton, a former ... State Department senior advisor, added that the report on German spying is a perfect example of why rifts over intelligence among allies should be handled quietly and privately." The Wall Street Journal adds, "Cem Özdemir, the head of the Green party and a leading German politician of Turkish descent, told Spiegel Online it would be 'irresponsible' for German spies not to target Turkey given its location as a transit country for Islamic State militants from Europe." Further details at Spiegel Online and The Wall Street Journal."

3 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. Germany not responsible for call recordings by timrod · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Speigel article states that the person responsible for making the call recordings of Clinton/Kerry and Kofi Annan was the same person the BND now believes to be a double-agent working for the US. The headline here makes it seem like the German government ordered the BND to do it, but it doesn't seem to be the case here.

    1. Re:Germany not responsible for call recordings by Yokaze · · Score: 5, Informative

      Also the same article states that
      * they were not targeting either officials, but the party they were happening to call.
      * and were ordered to delete the records, as soon as the involved parties were identified.

      Sounds not quite like hiring a double-agent from an allied secret service.

      --
      "Between strong and weak, between rich and poor [...], it is freedom which oppresses and the law which sets free"
  2. Re:Bottom line... by neoritter · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's exactly the point. The problem with anarchists is that there is no such as anarchy. Humans naturally create social circles and tribes. Removing "governments" or "nation-states" would only result in tribalism. Hatfields vs McCoys, etc.