The US spying scandal: Europe is helpless

German Chancellor Merkel is disappointed, but without an alternative to friendship with the USA

Berlin/Washington (bpb) The „Spying scandal" of the USA with the watching of friendly top politicians in Europe has led to a great mistrust of the victims of spying toward the "big brother USA". According to media reports, especially hard hit were the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the French President Francois Hollande. Here, the German lady politician has been especially humiliated, since she faithfully continues the ther policy of loyalty and confidence towards the USA and Israel, as this policy had been established years ago by the German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer.

„How can the US President Barack Obama do all this to her?", is being asked again and again among the Germans who are so loyal to the USA. The week-long protests, warnings, appeals and demands of the European politicians towards the USA have not resulted in a clarification as to what happened and what will happen in the future. The question, who has bugged the cellphone of the German Chancellor and what they found out as a result, remains unclear, as well as the question: Was she actually bugged?

The US President Obama has, with his ambiguous answers to the problem given several versions of explanations. A mistake he did no know about. But in Germany something like this is simply unimaginable, that Obama, as the "most powerful man in the world" would not be timely informed by his intelligence agency. If that were the case, then the US President is not "in charge of his shop", is the public opinion.

The present consultations and explanation plans of the USA and Europe will not explain, nor end what has happened. Just the opposite. The USA remain, on the basis of their position of power, able to continue the worldwide businness of espionage, if they feel it is necessary from the point of national security. The arguments about the protection against danger from Arab and islamic terrorists will suffice to convince the US citizens in the both large political parties, that a US government must maintain the leading position without consideration of "friends".

Seen in this way, threats, complains and begging of the Europeans does not accomplish anything. America will remain hard, also since as the only great power has the technology for global surveillance. Russia's President Putin as well as China cannot help in this matter. So for the European allies of the USA remains only consolation: "It is better to be spied on by the USA than to be swallowed up by Russia".

In spite of the poisoned transatlantic atmosphere, the German Chancellor Merkel acts "cool" and to the point. She does not appear to expect to see the moral strength in Obama, to ay least apologize for the espionage activities of his intelligence agencies in Germany.

In a telephone call between Obama and Merkel in October 2013, according to informations from the "Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung" newspaper, the US President Obama has assured the German Chancellor that he knew nothing about the actions of the "National Security Agency" (NSA), that they bugged her personal cell phone. Merkel, whose party CDU/CSU received the most votes in the parliamentary elections in Germany in 2913, will obviously outlast Obama in office as the head of state.

Controversy among the citizens in the internet

In the various internet discussion groups in Europe, the citizens' discussions about the German-American tensions has been discussed, and both sides have been criticized. Here are some examples:

In Yahoo, one „Peter ASch" wrote: Actually, I don't feel sorry for this lying Chancellor (Merkel), for whom the citizens of her country (Germany) were not worth much except a tired excuse. But, still I must say that who so arrogantly tramples down with their feet a 60-year old friendship, should get lost from our country. Break the diplomation relations and expel the US Ambassador (from Germany).

One N.E. wrote: The Amis are not at all concerned about terrorists (that tyhey are actually themselves). The want to be the largest collector od information in the whole world--what they are already anyway. We all use Google, and there are millions of idions who use Facebook.

One Leila wrote: Spying like this is shabby and absurd, Mr. Obama!! That is not done. An absolute NO GO.

One man wrote under a pseudonym: more interersting and telling is the interview of the NSA chief Alexander on YouTube. "NSA director General Alexander and Cybersecurity". He demands there quite unabashedly the termination of freedom of the press, and will not even stand corrected by his boss Obama. The interview of Alexander equals a call for the termination of democracy itself in the USA. But apparently, that is no concern for Obama...

Anothe man wrote: The possibility to collect such huge amounts of data is becoming greater, and greater and greater ... so in the future, cameras will be set up all over. We are threatened to live in a state which exercises total surveillance over us, just like George Orwell predicted it in his book "1984". Obviously, its arrival is not preventable.

30.10.2013

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PROMETHEUS, Internet Bulletin for Art, News, Politics and Science, Nr. 195, November 2013