There’s No Such Thing as No Spying
http://watchingamerica.com/News/233871/theres-no-such-thing-as-no-spying/
Theres No Such Thing as No Spying
Braunschweiger Zeitung, Germany
By Andre Dolle
Translated By Kelly Barksdale
28 February 2014
Edited by Gillian Palmer
The eavesdropping scandal with the U.S. intelligence service known as the National Security Agency is clearly still weighing down U.S.-German relations a lot so much so that the acronym NSA was not mentioned once by Foreign Minister Steinmeier on his visit to the U.S. That was a real work of art on Steinmeiers part. Espionage was the main topic of discussion over the past two days in Washington.
Steinmeiers visit did not result in any important conclusions. Both sides have been bristling for months pointlessly, it now seems, at least for the German side. Nothing remains of Berlins hoped for No-Spy Agreement, a mutual rejection of espionage. That is disappointing and shows how little the U.S. wants to deviate from its course. At this point, it is no longer certain if any agreement of substance will occur between the intelligence services. Steinmeier is clearly already resigned to this. He made many snappy comments about the NSA in the congressional election. He was still part of the opposition then. Now he is part of the government and views the situation very soberly. Too soberly.
Steinmeier does not go as far as French President Hollande, who on a visit to the U.S. recently explained that trust had been renewed. He at least warned of a new Logic of Suspicion between the U.S. and Germany. But an energetic demand for rights from millions of citizens looks different. After all, the U.S. intelligence services continue to take things too far.
On May 2, Chancellor Merkel is supposed to visit the U.S. Will she too avoid mentioning the NSA? Its nearly impossible to exceed the chancellor in sobriety. She is meters ahead of Steinmeier in that regard. Everything is as of old: The Americans are giving the Germans the cold shoulder.