SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
US Defense of Vast EU Spying by NSA: 'Everyone Else Is Doing It'
Europeans should not expect US spy agencies to honor their privacy, says former NSA and CIA chief
Jul 01, 2013
The US response to the latest revelations about its vast global surveillance programs amounts to the plaintive and familiar cry from the teenager caught in the act: 'Everyone else is doing it.'
News reports over the weekend from both Der Speigel in Germany and the UK's Guardian sparked outrage among EU countries after new documents made available by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden showed the NSA has been spying on many of its European allies, bugging their offices and tapping into their computer networks.
Following the reports, German officials accused the US of treating it "like a cold war enemy" and Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, said he was "deeply worried and shocked" over the allegations, and demanded a "full clarification" from the US regarding the allegations.
But on Sunday, the office of the NSA's director put out a press statement saying that the US foreign spying programs against its so-called allies is "of the of the type gathered by all nations."
Adding to the it's-ok-that-we-do-it-because-they-do-it argument on Sunday was former NSA chief Michael Hayden, who appeared on CBS' Face the Nation and said European officials blasting the US "should look first and find out what their own governments are doing."
Hayden defended US espionage by saying that the US Fourth Amendment, which is designed to protect the privacy of US citizens, does not extend to foreign citizens. That protection, he said, "Is not an international treaty."
The statement from NSA on Sunday did not deny any aspects of the news reporting about the bugging of the offices or the hacking of computer systems and said only that the US would address the charges through direct channels with the countries involved.
_______________________________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The US response to the latest revelations about its vast global surveillance programs amounts to the plaintive and familiar cry from the teenager caught in the act: 'Everyone else is doing it.'
News reports over the weekend from both Der Speigel in Germany and the UK's Guardian sparked outrage among EU countries after new documents made available by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden showed the NSA has been spying on many of its European allies, bugging their offices and tapping into their computer networks.
Following the reports, German officials accused the US of treating it "like a cold war enemy" and Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, said he was "deeply worried and shocked" over the allegations, and demanded a "full clarification" from the US regarding the allegations.
But on Sunday, the office of the NSA's director put out a press statement saying that the US foreign spying programs against its so-called allies is "of the of the type gathered by all nations."
Adding to the it's-ok-that-we-do-it-because-they-do-it argument on Sunday was former NSA chief Michael Hayden, who appeared on CBS' Face the Nation and said European officials blasting the US "should look first and find out what their own governments are doing."
Hayden defended US espionage by saying that the US Fourth Amendment, which is designed to protect the privacy of US citizens, does not extend to foreign citizens. That protection, he said, "Is not an international treaty."
The statement from NSA on Sunday did not deny any aspects of the news reporting about the bugging of the offices or the hacking of computer systems and said only that the US would address the charges through direct channels with the countries involved.
_______________________________________
The US response to the latest revelations about its vast global surveillance programs amounts to the plaintive and familiar cry from the teenager caught in the act: 'Everyone else is doing it.'
News reports over the weekend from both Der Speigel in Germany and the UK's Guardian sparked outrage among EU countries after new documents made available by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden showed the NSA has been spying on many of its European allies, bugging their offices and tapping into their computer networks.
Following the reports, German officials accused the US of treating it "like a cold war enemy" and Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, said he was "deeply worried and shocked" over the allegations, and demanded a "full clarification" from the US regarding the allegations.
But on Sunday, the office of the NSA's director put out a press statement saying that the US foreign spying programs against its so-called allies is "of the of the type gathered by all nations."
Adding to the it's-ok-that-we-do-it-because-they-do-it argument on Sunday was former NSA chief Michael Hayden, who appeared on CBS' Face the Nation and said European officials blasting the US "should look first and find out what their own governments are doing."
Hayden defended US espionage by saying that the US Fourth Amendment, which is designed to protect the privacy of US citizens, does not extend to foreign citizens. That protection, he said, "Is not an international treaty."
The statement from NSA on Sunday did not deny any aspects of the news reporting about the bugging of the offices or the hacking of computer systems and said only that the US would address the charges through direct channels with the countries involved.
_______________________________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy