Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Spying on Germany
I do not find it that surprising that the United States is listening to our allies conversations. Although it may not be right, they are looking into their own citizens phone calls so l do not think listening to our Allies would be out of the question. At this time it seems difficult to determine how long the listening took place for or when it stopped but it is interesting how the United States responded. They never actually denied the allegations so in my opinion, it seems likely that this accusation has some accuracy to it. It will also be interesting if President Obama was actually unaware of what was going on. Lastly, I think this could be damaging to many of our current allies, not just Germany. I would think many of our Allies will question if we are doing the same type of thing. The relationship between Germany and the United States may be damaged to some degree but it should not come as a huge shock to the German Government. However, it does not help as early this year some tension occurred as issues similar to this were raised and now something such as this is brought to the light.
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It would certainly be ironic if the very spying meant to help create additional security ended up creating the type of distrust that hampered future cooperation and perhaps let new threats arise from lack of coordination. You are right that the weird, very legalistic method of the denial is worrying and strange in itself. It's not surprising, but that we would have to do it on such a simple topic may say something about the degree to which a certain paranoid bureaucratic logic can take on a life of its own.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great point that you brought to my thinking, on how long the spying took place for and at what time it stopped. The reasons of the spying seem to be interesting too. Germany could have put a big damper on a spying project that could have increased their security. For President Obama to not be informed of what was going on, seems to be very strange and kind of unlikely. Another great point you make, is whether we should only be focused and concerned with the relations we may have hurt with Germany but also the relations of other countries. It is a sticky situation and one that no one would want to get caught in.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this blog. One aspect that I also find extremely hard to believe is that President Obama did not know that this program was going on. It is really a no win situation for the President. If he did not know that the spying program was going on, it just shows a lack f awareness on his part, which is not a good trait to have in a President. Secondly, if the President did know that this program was going on and didn't do anything, that also doesn't paint him in a positive light.
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