Over the last few weeks Germany has been rocked by a series of leaked government documents revealing new details on the extensive cooperation between the German foreign intelligence service and the National Security Agency, including spying on other European governments. At the same time, emails leaked to the news media have revealed that a promised “no spy” agreement, under negotiation since the revelation in 2013 of N.S.A. surveillance on German government officials, was nowhere close to completion, contrary to explicit claims by the office of Angela Merkel, the chancellor.
These revelations have fueled a bitter debate in the Bundestag, with distinctly anti-American overtones.… Seguir leyendo »
A decade ago in Berlin, a well-informed source cautioned me, half tongue-in-cheek, against holding meetings in a certain hotel not far from the Brandenburg Gate. It seems that an U.S. trade delegation had stayed there not long before and prepared a negotiating strategy late into the night, only to sense in talks the next day that, as my friend put it, “It was as if the Germans had been a fly on the wall the previous evening.”
Nations spy on each other. Allies spy on allies, too, even if they don’t like to admit it. The United States, France and Israel may lead the pack in this regard, but even Germany spies on its friends, the United States included.… Seguir leyendo »
Is it because they know us so little — or because they know us too well — that the Americans can’t stop spying on us Germans?
It is a question worth pondering after last week’s revelation that American agents had recruited at least one member of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, the BND, and may have done the same with a high-ranking defense official. In response, the German government denounced the “stupidity” of the C.I.A. and expelled its top man in Berlin.
The reports struck nerves already jangled by Edward J. Snowden’s revelations about the scope and depth of the National Security Agency’s surveillance into both private communications and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone.… Seguir leyendo »
Germany may be America's most important European ally, but the relationship between the two countries is on the rocks.
On Thursday, Germany expelled a top CIA agent from Berlin, a highly unusual move for which the German government cited a "lack of cooperation" from the United States in clarifying recent spying cases. Those cases include revelation that the CIA tried to recruit a German secret service staffer to sell classified information, and the possibility that a German Defense Ministry employee had been working for U.S. intelligence.
German policymakers and journalists are up in arms, with U.S. diplomats struggling to contain the political damage.… Seguir leyendo »
When candidate Barack Obama spoke in July 2008 in Berlin near the Brandenburg Gate, he told a rapturous German audience that peace and progress "require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other." It was supposed to be the opposite of George W. Bush's cowboy diplomacy, which alienated the Federal Republic of Germany and much of Europe. Yet six years later, relations between Washington and Berlin are more mistrustful than ever.
The main problem is that President Obama has been listening all too well to Germans — spying on them from more than 150 National Security Agency sites in Germany, according to secret NSA documents that former contractor Edward Snowden leaked to the weekly Der Spiegel.… Seguir leyendo »
Almost every day, new information is released about how American and British intelligence agencies have monitored governments, embassies and the communications of whole societies. These revelations have provided us with a deep and terrifying insight into the uncontrolled power of intelligence agencies.
They show that data collection is no longer about targeted acquisition of information to avert threats, and it’s certainly not about the dangers of “international Islamist terrorism.” After all, which terrorist is going to call or text Chancellor Angela Merkel?
All of our current knowledge about this surveillance is thanks to one man, Edward J. Snowden. Without him, Ms.… Seguir leyendo »
In the wake of revelations that the American government tapped the cellphone of Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, trans-Atlantic relations have reached a low point not seen since the Iraq war.
In fact, the current crisis may be worse: Back then it was a question of policy disagreement; this time, it is a matter of broken trust and personal humiliation, the worst thing that can happen to a political leader.
For Germans, it is particularly painful. We remember well the days of the Cold War, when East Germans like Ms. Merkel were spied on by the Stasi. Again, in some ways this is worse: The Stasi wasn’t our friend; America is.… Seguir leyendo »
Germans used to joke that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s penchant for communicating via fleeting text messages effectively marked the end of traditional historiography. Well, at least American spy agencies seem to have kept full track of the behind-the-scenes communications — in Berlin and beyond.
Regrettably U.S. President Barack Obama and his administration have yet to comprehend the scale and severity of the damage caused to America’s credibility among its European allies. The problem is not that countries spy on each other (they all do). Rather, it is the extent of U.S. intelligence gathering and America’s attitude toward allies that is most damaging.… Seguir leyendo »
A new Stasi exhibits reveals just how evil ‘security’ can be.
When the Germans found out from Edward Snowden that America's National Security Agency had spied on Germany, an outraged German artist projected onto a wall at the U.S. Embassy the words “United Stasi of America.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel was not so outraged. She said that American and German intelligence services had been working together in the service of the security of both countries.
The comparison to the Stasi was absurd, and particularly to Frau Merkel, who grew up in the East and who knew well the efficiency and extent of Stasi surveillance.… Seguir leyendo »
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