Posted on 06/30/2013 10:02:48 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Former NSA, CIA director: "The United States does conduct espionage"
(CBS News) "The United States does conduct espionage," and the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protecting the privacy of American citizens "is not an international treaty," former CIA and National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden said Sunday on "Face the Nation," after a German magazine cited secret intelligence documents to charge U.S. spies of bugging European Union offices.
"Any European who wants to go out and rim their garments with regard to international espionage should look first and find out what their own governments are doing," Hayden said. "Let's keep in mind that in a global telecommunications infrastructure, geography doesn't mean what it used to mean. ...The Internet lacks geography, so I wouldn't draw any immediate conclusions with regard to some of those numbers that have been put out there as to who's being targeted and who isn't."
Earlier Sunday, top German official Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger accused the United States of using "Cold War" methods against its allies. Her statement came in response to a report in the German news weekly Der Spiegel, which, citing some of the top-secret documents leaked by former government contractor Edward Snowden, claimed the NSA had eavesdropped on EU offices in Washington, New York and Brussels.
Hayden said President Obama should more aggressively pursue the extradition of Snowden, who's currently believed to be holed up in a Moscow airport. He suggested: "The president is trying to limit diplomatic, and perhaps even political, damage. But the leadership of the American intelligence community has caused damage from these leaks so far - and it's very clear there's going to be some more here - so far have been significant and irreversible. That's a big deal."
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Did this Gestapo Politico keep a straight face during the interview?
Love the “Yes We Scan” sign.
But I do care when our government spies on American citizens who are not involved in Islamic terrorism, or are otherwise agents working for a hostile or potentially hopstile foreign government. That's the issue...Berlin, London, Moscow, and Beijing can howl all they want, as far as I'm concerned.
How can our government do its duty of protecting us from foreign enemies if it spends its time spying on everyone in the world?
No wonder they failed to catch the Tsarnaev brothers before they bombed Boston. They were busy finding out what Angela Merkel was having for breakfast.
Thanks for that post, saved me the typing...
He throws that 4th Ammendment around like its something that U.S. citizens can use to keep their government from spying on them.
So you do know what the NSA's single most-targeted country in the world was, from the initial slide leak, right?
Or do you not actually read articles?
Well, that’s what foreign intelligence services do. All of them. As best they can, I hope, because that’s their job.
Anyone feigning surprise or outrage over this must be incredibly naive.
Well - the price will be high for the US and its citizens this time. I suppose no further cooperation on issues like security, free-trade-zone and support in Afghanistan or elsewhere. Angela Merkel has an election to win and the German people will be pi$$ed off. This is a gift for the leftist SPD. Remember Iraq and Gerhard Schroeder??! A few hundred Americans had to bleed the German share of blood in this war and the US suffered a major and enduring loss of influence and importance in Europe.
You guys shot into your own knees.
“Yes We Scan” LOL. That’s a good zinger.
Of course it's espionage. That's the whole point of these agencies, isn't it? (I might be exaggerating a little for effect here.) And it's the job of the others to take effective countermeasures. Just follow the old dictum "Nations don't have friends, they have interests" and act accordingly. Oh, and "try to not get caught doing it." ;-)
Seriously, though, a little restraint should be excercised as regards foreign countries that are not outright enemies. (But never slip into complacency.)
I’m shocked and appalled that such could occur.
So be it...it’s high time to pull up the drawbridge and let the rest of the world burn. We can’t be it’s policeman forever.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.