Large scale monitoring of phone calls throughout France, Germany and Spain has left the NSA with a sour taste in its mouth as it faces an internal inquiry ordered by President Obama.
The latest reports, supposedly being sourced from ex-NSA worked and now fugitive analyst Edward Snowden, claim that the US monitored over 60 million Spanish phone calls in a single month. This came just as an EU delegation was sent to Washington to alleviate European concerns. The US ambassador to Spain vowed to clear any ÔÇ£doubtsÔÇØ which had arisen from the claims in a meeting with the Spanish EU Minister.
Meanwhile, it is not actually known how the US is monitoring calls in the European region. Many methods may have been used, such as monitoring data obtained from telecommunication companies or fibre-optic cables. When a call is monitored, the US claims that it does not monitor the contents of the call, or what is said. Instead only the numbers of the callers  duration, time, and location.
These damaging revelations have led to a review of the NSA and the remit of its power. This week Director James Clapper and Director General Alexander faced the intelligence panel of the House of Representatives.┬á They took the time to re-iterate AmericaÔÇÖs stance, saying that knowing what foreign leaders were thinking was key to setting American policy. Despite the arguments that have been put forward in favour of international monitoring, it appears in the US interest for Obama to initiate a review of security policy.
Earlier this week it was also revealed by German magazine Der Spiegel that the US had been spying on Chancellor Angela MerkelÔÇÖs phone for over a decade. Despite knowing that the US had been spying in some way, Der Spiegel said it was unclear what this entailed. Phone calls may have been monitored or her contacts may have been analysed. As a result, Germany is sending top intelligence officials and diplomats to the US to push forward an investigation into the spying allegations. In a phone call to the Chancellor, Obama took the opportunity to apologise and said he was not aware of the monitoring. This has led to many criticising Obama for being out of touch with the NSAÔÇÖs security programmes.
According to Der Spiegel, the unit responsible for collecting German and French data is known as the Special Collection Services located on the fourth floor of the US Embassy in Berlin. This unit monitored calls in the German government, including Angela Merkel. Further information indicates another 80 listening stations around the world, with 17 based in Europe. This information has caused a tentative split in US-German relations and could postpone any sorts of trade talks forsome time.
Germany wasnÔÇÖt the only European ally to be monitored. It was also revealed that both Spain and France were victims of NSA monitoring on a national scale. The US allegedly installed spyware onto millions of networks, including ones used by French diplomats. In 2011 alone, it is alleged that over $652m (┬ú402m) was spent on operations ÔÇ£WabashÔÇØ and ÔÇ£BlackfootÔÇØ which were intended to monitor FranceÔÇÖs embassy in Washington and the French delegation in the UN. French foreign minister Laurent Fabius met with John Kerry to demand a full explanation, and reiterated President Francois HollandeÔÇÖs message that spying of this kind is unacceptable.
The recent claims have left many confused as to why the US felt it necessary to monitor such activities. Susan Rice has been quoted as saying that the intelligence on French diplomats aided her in pushing through sanctions on Iran in the Security Council. The Obama Administration has also been tying itself in knots as to whether or not it should openly admit that the President was briefed on the fact that itÔÇÖs close allies were being monitored. Many believe that ObamaÔÇÖs unwillingness to justify the actions may indicate an intention to reduce the size of intelligence groups which came to prominence after 9/11. Either way, the continued fallout from the NSA spying will sour relations between the US and EU for some time and the political effects of this may be felt for months to come.
Gareth Short
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