Germany Compares US Bugging to 'Cold War' - AP

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

They hate us for out freedom...to spy on them.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/germany-compares-reported-us-bugging-cold-war-19535635#.UdBODZwr76M

The president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, said he was "deeply worried and shocked about the allegations of U.S. authorities spying on EU offices" made in a report published Sunday by German news weekly Der Spiegel.

Schulz said that if the allegations that the NSA bugged European Union offices were confirmed "it would be an extremely serious matter which will have a severe impact on EU-US relations."

Green Party leaders in the European Parliament, Rebecca Harms and Daniel Cohn-Bendit, called for an immediate investigation into the claims and suggested that recently launched negotiations on a trans-Atlantic trade treaty should be put on hold.

"If the media reports are accurate, then this recalls the methods used by enemies during the Cold War," German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger. "It is beyond comprehension that our friends in the United States see Europeans as enemies."

[cantbeserious]

1. See Details On PRISM Tasking And Sources Here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023133554

[The Link]

2. What do the Germans have to hide?

Very suspicious behavior from them.

[treestar]

3. Sorry that is one country that does not get to talk, complain or say anything

about "spying."

[GermanSmoker]

5. Oh yes it does.

Out of experience we have the moral high ground on this issue.

[treestar]

9. We're spying to make sure you don't allow another

dictator to arise and cause a third world war.

[cherokeeprogressive]

11. Where has THAT been stated?

Or is it a secret interpretation of Section 215 that we're not supposed to know about?

Are you SERIOUS? We're protecting the world from the next German dictator?

[treestar]

12. We are talking about Germans acting as if they can

complain that the US is spying on them. Not happening. Yes, that country has shown a true propensity for dictatorship. How do you know what we are spying for?

If we'd had better spies in the 1930s - well, we didn't have the technology then.

You are kidding if you think we should take German scolding of us for spying.

[cherokeeprogressive]

13. WTF? You're so all over the map; your posts should come with a legend...

"We're spying to make sure you don't allow another dictator to arise and cause a third world war."

That is arrogance of the first degree. Very few Germans who were responsible for German actions in that time period are living today, and NONE of them are in any position to craft policy. The world has changed, or are you not aware of that? Or do you actually believe in your heart of hearts that the WORLD should fear Germany? Or, as I would guess is most likely the case... were you just spouting whatever bullshit you could in order to protect what many see as an out of control government?

Followed by:

"We are talking about Germans acting as if they can complain that the US is spying on them. Not happening. Yes, that country has shown a true propensity for dictatorship. How do you know what we are spying for?"

That last post hit the nail on the head. If the nail head were 1/8" and the diameter of the hammer head were 12", you couldn't have had better aim. No one seems to KNOW who we're spying on and what we're spying on them for. That's the gist of the complaint. We're not allowed to know what our government is doing "in our name." The government (notice I didn't say "Obama administration&quot has interpreted our laws in such a way as to allow free reign to do seemingly anything, and shields the citizens from knowledge of what those interpretations are. I do not support that, nor will I ever.

You think the world needs to FEAR Germany? Really?

[cali]

16. Unfuckingbelievable, isn't it?

[cherokeeprogressive]

19. It boggles the mind. n/t

[reusrename]

21. color me boggled, too

from the OP:

"It is beyond comprehension that our friends in the United States see Europeans as enemies."

It isn't really beyond comprehension; we also see our own citizens as enemies.

[cali]

15. oh for the love of reason.

and what on earth makes you think that a) that's the reason and b) that it's even remotely likely that Germany would do any such thing?

gadzooks. I'm astounded by your posts. and not in a good way.

[LittleBlue]

18. Disgraceful, ignorant, foolish comment

Shame on you.

[cali]

20. really appalling. I don't know why I'm so shocked, but I am.

disgraceful is right.

[cali]

7. why not?

[treestar]

10. Really? A country that started two world wars and a genocide?

If they get spied on for the next three thousand years, it'll be too short.

[cali]

14. seriously? by that mode of thinking, England should never

talk or complain or say anything about spying. They were an empire that oppressed people for a couple of centuries. And why should Belgium have any legitimate right to complain? After all, the death toll in the Congo under their merry little act of genocide was anywhere from 2 million to 15 million. And what about France? Algeria ring a bell? Turkey? The Armenian genocide. Japan?

That brings us to the U.S. with our history in the middle east and South America. Iraq ring a bell? We invaded a country with the result being hundreds of thousands of deaths. How about the overthrow of Allende? And Mossadeq?

It's ridiculous to say that Germany has no legitimate right to complain about spying because of its history. It's a democracy and has been for well over half a century- and in that half century, Germany's human rights record is better than ours.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Drips with irony, does it not?

[moondust]

6. "beyond comprehension"? Really?

It looks as though this stuff got set up back during the "Old Europe" administration. I'm not sure I'd call Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the rest of the Freedom Fries contingent "our friends."

I don't know how much of this has gone on during the Obama administration, but naturally once this kind of thing is in place it may be hard to rein in even if you want to.

[nashville_brook]

8. imperialism is doing to other countries that which couldn't be done here...

in this case, 1% more.

For the 51% chance that communications collected are actually international in nature.

[Autumn]

17. Guess what? The United States seems to see it's own citizens as enemies.

Join the club.