Us Spying On World Leaders

[jake-the-peg]

More Snowdon revalations have shown the NSA to have been tapping the phones of 35 World Leaders including France and Germany

This in the middle of negotiations to form the world's largest free-trade area between the US and the EU

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24668286

Is this sufficiently important to justify Snowdon's release of information to you? - if not what would?

How can the US restablish trust with the rest of the world leaders now?

[ludwig]

// I find it bizarre how people are just fine with this. //

It not so much a case of being fine with it, so much as an acceptance that espionage has always and will always be carried out for military/economic purposes, even between so called allies.

All governments know that, and they all do it. There's a period of embarrassment when someone gets caught, because you're not supposed to get caught doing it - it's bad form, but it will continue, irrespective of which ambassadors get summoned to wherever to explain themselves.

[Kromovaracun]

That's true, I guess. I can't really argue with that.

[New Judge]

The US is wise to be wary and is probably taking heed of history. Sixty years or so ago six European nations got together to form a large free trade area. And look what happened as a result of that.

[jno]

... it became the US's biggest trading partner?

[bednobs]

i absolutely can't believe that people did not know this anyway!

[ichkeria]

Everyone spies on everyone else to the best of their ability. The US probably does more of it as it has the most advanced technology. I doubt if thère's ever been an occasion in history where someone has passed up the chance of significant intelligence for reasons of etiquette.
It's not a question of trust in the future bit just making sure you think you are one step ahead of the other lot :-)

[jno]

actually, there is a change. We used to suppose the US spied on everyone. Now we know.

[doctordb]

Come to think of it, I wonder how 'man of principle - ed snowden' is getting on in his new home of liberal Russia, a country renowned for its refusal to spy on anyone.

[ichkeria]

"Come to think of it, I wonder how 'man of principle - ed snowden' is getting on in his new home of liberal Russia, a country renowned for its refusal to spy on anyone. "

lol - yes, that aspect of it leaves me feeling most uneasy about any claim Snowden might have to the moral high ground here. If there was some justification or value in his initial "whistleblowing" he has since gone way beyond that. It's hard not to compare him with Kim Philby now.

[jno]

Philby defected to the country he was spying for. Snowden didn't, and wasn't spying for anyone, except perhaps me. That ought to be enough difference to be going on with.

[ichkeria]

"Philby defected to the country he was spying for" doesn't sound all that different, effectively, to what Snowden has done. If he wasn't spying for Russia at the start (and there are those who think he might have been) then that's effectively what he's up to now.
But the biggest comparison is the damage done to the UK/US intelligence services and their agents abroad, regardless of anything else.