US has been monitoring German chancellor Angela Merkel's phone since 2002, report says

[cali]

The US government may have been monitoring German chancellor Angela Merkel's cell phone for more than 10 years, according to a report by Der Spiegel based on internal documents from the National Security Agency (NSA).

President Barack Obama told Merkel that he was not aware her phone was being bugged, or he would have stopped it. However, he declined to say whether her phone had been monitored in the past. A separate report in Die Welt said the number of Merkel's Nokia 6120 Slide was listed in leaked NSA documents, although she's since switched to a BlackBerry Z10 smart phone.

The White House assured Merkel that her phone is not being tapped now. But today's report suggests that the surveillance went back as far as 2002, when Merkel was the head of her political party, the Christian Democratic Union. She became chancellor in 2005.

It's unclear how much data was being collected. Der Spiegel reports the surveillance was being done from a legally-registered intelligence office. The agency reportedly has 80 such offices around the world, including Paris, Madrid, Rome, Prague, Geneva, and Frankfurt, according to a 2010 NSA document.

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http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/26/5031990/us-has-been-monitoring-german-chancellor-angela-merkels-phone-since-2002

[PuffedMica]

1. October 26, 2001

Bush got his Patriot Act in October 2001 and Merkel got her phone tapped in 2002.

Way to go Idiot Son. Bush sure knew how to advance the image of the United States on the international stage.

[baldguy]

2. Nation states have been spying on one another since the beginning of time.

This is not news.

[redgreenandblue]

3. Yes, amongst enemies.

When it happens amongst allies it is always "news" in that usually people will be pissed and there will be consequences.

[baldguy]

12. The UK spied on the US before & during WWII.

Jonathan Pollard is currently serving a life sentence, but Israel is still considered a close ally. And in the past America has conducted active intel operations against Canada and Mexico.

The targets of these activities may not like it, but they would definitely do the same thing if given the opportunity. The pretend otherwise is dangerously naive.

[Shampoyeto]

8. Has Germany been spying on Bush and Obama?

?

[Fumesucker]

4. You'd think someone in the BOG would have let Obama know..

Since we here on DU have known about all the spying since 2007 or 1997 or 1777 or something.

[vdogg]

5. Not sure what your point is

Was Obama president in 2002? Or is it that this story doesn't fit your "obama is the cause of all evils" narrative and therefore warranted a snarky response?

[Fumesucker]

6. I'm poking fun at the many, many posts that have dismissed any revelations about spying..

By saying "We've known all about this for a long time now".

Sorry to ruin your myopic and one dimensional view of me but I defended Obama when most of DU was down on him.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1480985

[intaglio]

7. Good to see a verified story about this n/t

[Laelth]

9. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth

[Douglas Carpenter]

10. who here is willing to take the risk that Angela Merkel could be plotting with Islamic extremist to

carry out another 9/11 type attack on the United States? Even if it sounds far fetched - Who is willing to take that risk?

[Ichingcarpenter]

11. German, Mexican and Brazilian technolgy is so advanced

that the US can't even catch them spying on the phones and emails of President Obama, whereas the US gets caught tapping their leaders phones. and emails

Thus the everyone is doing it bullshit story I expect to see anytime now.