Recent revelations about the NSA’s broad surveillance of German phone and Internet communications have fueled major concerns in the country, as Federal Prosecutors say they are preparing criminal charges against US and British spies involved.
Hessian prosecutors were the first to receive complaints about the matter, but that is likely to grow precipitously after German media outlets reported the US surveillance has collected more than half a billion phone calls and emails per month in Germany alone.
Though broad internal surveillance is also an issue in the US, the NSA’s policies don’t make spying on Germans illegal as such. The US lists Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand as “second party” nations exempt from surveillance, but considers Germany fair game. The program also explicitly targeted European Union diplomats.
Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said the US policy was “beyond comprehension,” and said that such “Cold War” methods were unacceptable toward allies. Officials are urging the EU to take direct action to stop the surveillance.
It's time the Germans booted the Americans out of the country once and for and shuttered the bases. How long must an occupying force remain? Forever?
The game is over.., if Europeans don't want to continue with the war games from when Bush announced the new world order then Europe is the enemy of the state of USA.
It's hilarious – all these idiot Governments that chose Microsoft Windows for their computers – many rejecting Linux at the same time, now have egg all over their faces and their secrets all over Washington.
And now you know why Bill Gates was so aggressive in getting Windows to be the OS of choice for Governments.
The Andalusian Government (Autonomous region for Southern Spain) had long ago switched their entire network to Linux, and now I see why.
This is what must be done by every country whose people have been violated.
Everybody will start screaming now, Nazi, Nazi over the German reaction although the Nazi deed is done by the Anglo-Saxons in the UK and the USA.
I thought dogs don't bite each other but it looks like those do.
"Come into my parlor,"said the spider to the fly."
There are those who are invited in and those who get caught.
It is time to grow up boy and girls. States have no honor, no word can be trusted and you are a friend as long as you tow the line and as long as you are useful.
And looming over it all is the "memory hole" and when the cowboys are in control they won't hesitate an instant to gun you down.
You can take it to the bank! But…do be careful at the bank, that is where all the pickpockets hang out.
The second party nations are exempt from surveillance by the NSA? Sure, and I've got a bridge for sale.
They are "…exempt from surveillance by the NSA.." because they are the founding members of "Five Eyes" or ECHELON global surveillance system sponsored by the USA. NSA set up and partly staffs installations in their territories starting just after WWII. Technically they spy on themselves and pass the data on to NSA so fitting the literal definition of being "exempt from surveillance by the NSA".
As with everything related to our dear global overlords its all down to PD – plausible deniability.
I'm waiting for the U.S. to file criminal charges against the U.S. for spying in the U.S.
Germans knew this was going on and this is all for show.
You mean the government not the people, right?
How the US Government makes friends and influences people is beyond comprehension. Those in government are consistent in creating enemies and mistrust with their friends throughout the world. And the Anglo-Saxon countries really believe the tale that they are immune from US surveillance?
obama is delivering African style of leadership: lies, mayhem, violence, torture and outright killings.
Correction is needed here. Obama brought American leadership for all of the above.
African leaders are not competent in anything and please do not credit others what is
essentially the specialty of a superpower.
Now the US citizens need to start a class action lawsuit against all the companies that caved in to the NSA, when they should have been alerting the American public instead.
You are joking, right?
What court of law in the US will judge, the legal system is more corrupt than you can imagine, after all they gave permission for spying.
The US is above law. That galling 'impunity' motif. Germany plans to go to the ICC? Good luck with that.
"…urging the EU to take direct action to stop the surveillance." Come now…you don't really think the EU might actually attempt to stand up against the US? Not that they shouldn't – they absolutely should. But, as with the US refusing to demand that Israel stop settlement expansion, the EU Archons won't bring the US to the docket over something they probably already knew about… The outrage of the Germans is deserved…it's too bad the people of the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand aren't equally outraged.
The EU might squawk and make other futile gestures, but nothing is going to happen. This posturing is all for the elections. Impressive headlines for the proles but nothing of consequence will happen.
The saddest part is that the spying was predominately about stealing business secrets to gain an unfair competitive edge, not fighting terrorism. So we can't beat them economically with their "inefficient socialists state", so we look to cheat. What does that say about the US's business model?