Merkel calls Obama over reports her phone may have been tapped by US

[AdamSmith]

Merkel calls Obama over reports her phone may have been tapped by US

Chancellor Angela Merkel's personal mobile phone may have been monitored by the US, according to a German government spokesman

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called US President Barack Obama about the alleged monitoring of her mobile phone Photo: YVES HERMAN/REUTERS

By Raf Sanchez, and Peter Foster in Washington

The Telegraph

8:23PM BST 23 Oct 2013

The White House was today scrambling to head off a major diplomatic incident after the German government said it had received information that US spies may have tapped Angela Merkel’s personal mobile phone for years.

In the most significant protest by a world leader since Edward Snowden began leaking details of the US’s global surveillance network, Mrs Merkel called Barack Obama and demanded his personal assurances she was not being monitored.

The president promised his German counterpart that US intelligence “is not monitoring and will not monitor” her communications but the White House did not explicitly rule out the possibility she had been bugged in the past.

German diplomatic sources said they were still not satisfied with the White House’s explanation and would demand further clarification over the “completely unacceptable” allegations.

The row comes two days after France summoned the US ambassador to Paris to demand an explanation to reports that America swept up 70 million French telephone records in a month including politicians and business leaders.

In the latest flare up with a European ally, the German government said it had received information that the National Security Agency had targeted Mrs Merkel’s personal mobile over a series of years in an effort to gain diplomatic intelligence.

Steffen Seibert, a spokesman for Mrs Merkel, said the spying “would be a serious breach of trust” and that the German leader “unequivocally disapproves of such practices, should they be confirmed, and regards them as completely unacceptable”

“Among close friends and partners, as the Federal Republic of Germany and the US have been for decades, there should be no such monitoring of the communications of a head of government,” he said.

The German government did not elaborate on what information it had been given but the call to Mr Obama appeared to have been prompted by information from Der Spiegel, a news magazine that has begun publishing information from Mr Snowden’s trove of stolen classified US files.

Der Spiegel reportedly approached authorities with a US document that contained Mrs Merkel's mobile phone number, triggering the sharp German response.

Mrs Merkel telephoned the president on Wednesday afternoon, shortly before he went into a sensitive meeting with Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistani prime minister, who was expected to confront him about US drone strikes.

“Today President Obama and Chancellor Merkel spoke by telephone regarding the allegations that the US National Security Agency intercepted the communications of the German chancellor,” said Jay Carney, the White House press secretary.

“I can tell you that the president assured the chancellor that the United States is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of the chancellor.”

Mr Carney did not answer a question about whether the NSA may have intercepted Mrs Merkel’s communications as part of a broader eavesdropping sweep.

He also did not rule out the possibility that the US had in the past monitored her telephone, a nuance that was picked up by German diplomats.

“I would just urge you to look at the tenses used by the White House,” one German source told The Telegraph. “They speak only about the present and the future – we 'are not’ monitoring and we 'will not’ monitor, but not about the past. The clarification we are seeking is about the issue over all.”

The row with Germany comes two days after Le Monde, the French newspaper, published claims that the NSA was collecting millions of records of French telephone calls.

“This sort of practice between partners that invades privacy is totally unacceptable and we have to make sure, very quickly, that this no longer happens,” said Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister.

Charles Rivkin, the US ambassador to Paris, was summoned to the French foreign ministry to address the claims and Mr Obama spoke to Francois Hollande on Monday.

However, Mrs Merkel’s personal phone call to Mr Obama is the most direct and potentially serious protest by a fellow world leader.

Last month, Dilma Rousseff, the Brazilian president postponed a planned state visit to Washington in protest at claims the US was intensely spying on her country.

Globo TV reported that the NSA targeted Mrs Rousseff’s aides, collected billions of Brazilian emails and telephone records and hacked the internal network of Petrobras, the state-run oil company.

As revelations of US spying mounted in recent months, Mr Obama ordered a review of how the NSA conducts its intelligence gather.

“The US is reviewing the way that we gather intelligence to ensure that we properly balance the security concerns of our citizens and allies with the privacy concerns that all people share,” Mr Carney said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10400825/Merkel-calls-Obama-over-reports-her-phone-may-have-been-tapped-by-US.html

[RA1]

I trust the pols. I trust the pols. I trust BO.

Best regards,

RA1

[Guest EXPAT]

Repeal the Patriat Act NOW.

[Guest hitoallusa]

Not sure why this is so surprising or condemning? Spying is part of national defense for any country that exists in the world. Not sure why some americans are against something that is required as part of national defense. If the US gives up on this then do you think China, Russia and other countries will stop it too? Good thing is that there are counter counter measures to counter measures so that you can't always trust the intel you gather and the analysis of it could be challenging. Most of all I doubt that Merkel had not been aware of it. She must have been briefed when she took the office and how to secure her communications. I don't think the US is the only country she should be worried about and they must have been taking proper protocols to secure their communications. Now it is amazing that the NSA could penetrate german countermeasures to eavesdrop. What I don't get is why the NSA capable such a thing is unable to detect the leaker in its organization. It's a real irony to me and I find that intriguing. It is amazing how things play in the world of spying.

By the way I want to have a personal chat with Obama too.. I think I will faint hearing his sexy voice.. lol..

[AdamSmith]

Yes, my dear, you have put your finger on it. The breach of protocol here was our getting caught.

How gauche.

[Guest hitoallusa]

Well it was not caught but exposed. I doubt that the german didn't know about it. Not sure why Edward wants to mess with the international affairs of the US. I have been sympathetic to him but if he continues these things then I don't think I can show support for him anymore.

[AdamSmith]

if he continues these things

He has stopped. It is the press now continuing to publish what he gave them before leaving Hong Kong.

[lookin]

Repeal the Patriat Act NOW.

I find even the name to be a little creepy. Same with "Homeland". I always feel like I should be saluting something.

[lookin]

Not sure why this is so surprising or condemning?

The problem is that when you tell folks you're not spying on them and then they find out you are spying on them, you take away any measure of trust that you may have built up over the years. Trust is an enormously valuable asset, not only in diplomacy but in all human relationships. It takes a huge investment of time and energy to build up trust and only an instant to lose it. Once lost, it may never be regained.

Edward Snowden is not the one who told the Germans one thing and then did another. It was our government. He's also not the one who told U. S. citizens they were definitely not being spied on, even while they were. It was our government that lied to us. Snowden merely told us the truth about it.

Think of it like this. Let's say you find your ideal husband, settle down, and start a life together. You tell him you want to be faithful to one another and he promises you he will never stray. You keep up your end of the bargain but, after your third child together, your neighbor tells you that he's been cheating on you all along. Would you say, "Oh my, all husbands do that - no problem"? Or would you be hurt? Would you blame your husband for cheating, or your neighbor for telling you about it? Or yourself, for asking him to be faithful and believing that two-timer in the first place? And where are the kids in all of this?

I can tell you my answers to these questions, but I have a hunch they may not be the same as yours.

[AdamSmith]

Same with "Homeland". I always feel like I should be saluting something.

Exactly. I feel like an Afrikaner when I say it.

[AdamSmith]

Angela is severely unamused.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/24/world/europe/europe-summit-nsa-surveillance/index.html?c=world

Together with the rest of Europe?

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/24/world/europe/europe-us-surveillance/index.html?c=homepage-t

[Guest hitoallusa]

I always get excited when a guy talks about marriage in front of me because guys rarely do that... Thanks for the analogy.. You are so sweet to do this. Although spying might be dirty and ugly to some people, it's necessary part of national defense of any country and some lies and deceptions deeply are associated with it. It's like excessive nagging, comparisons, mockeries and complaints a husband has to endure to make his marriage work. BTW some people need prenups too, completely contradicting their wedding vows. I do not worry about the country being spied on because they have counter measures in place and sometimes counter counter counter counter counters measures to a foreign surveillance. In my opinion, Edward is being too opinionated and judgmental without considering reality. To me Edward is disrespecting those who died namelessly doing what he thinks as "dirty work" to provide what we enjoy today. Edward should have stopped at exposing the NSA spying on americans but he didn't. He willing gave files on the foreign spying activities of the US. I had been on his side but not any more. At least I want to acknowledge those who have died struggling to provide the very freedom we enjoy. He should stop and pause at least for them. Whether he does that or not and whatever he thinks is right or wrong, things will not bend to his will and spying will continue to exist and get more sophisticated.

Think of it like this. Let's say you find your ideal husband, settle down, and start a life together. You tell him you want to be faithful to one another and he promises you he will never stray. You keep up your end of the bargain but, after your third child together, your neighbor tells you that he's been cheating on you all along. Would you say, "Oh my, all husbands do that - no problem"? Or would you be hurt? Would you blame your husband for cheating, or your neighbor for telling you about it? Or yourself, for asking him to be faithful and believing that two-timer in the first place? And where are the kids in all of this?

[Guest hitoallusa]

Well he hasn't stopped and now he is offering to testify to help a German probe into US spying and he has already met with a german government official.. To me I think he pushed it too far but I guess he thinks it is necessary for him to do that to save himself and come back safely to the US. Let's see how this thing pans out. Will he achieve his goal? I just hope he doesn't get outplayed by Russia and other foreign countries.. But you never know he might be like Jason Bourne and outsmart everyone achieve his goal.

Anyhow, I don't approve his contribution in revealing US spying on Germany. If he wanted to do that then he needs to reveal spying activities against the US by foreign nationals and their recruited US nationals inside the US to be fair. If he had access to secret documents, there must have been documents that detail spying activities conducted by foreign countries in the US and counter measures against it.. Either those documents are not in the hands of the journalists I guess or they not reporting on it.

He has stopped. It is the press now continuing to publish what he gave them before leaving Hong Kong.