Surveillance program defended
Source: AFP |
June 20, 2013, Thursday
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Print Edition
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US President Barack Obama yesterday defended US Internet and phone surveillance programs which sparked alarm in Europe, saying American spies were not "rifling" through the e-mails of German and French citizens.
Obama insisted the programs run by the National Security Agency were legal and limited and were a vital tool in the fight against global terrorism.
"This is not a situation where we are rifling through, you know, the ordinary e-mails of German citizens or American citizens or French citizens or anyone else," Obama said after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Obama argued that "lives have been saved" because of the use of the surveillance system, including in Germany, where memories of communist Stasi secret police eavesdropping still linger.
"We know of at least 50 threats that have been averted - not just in the US, but in countries around the world, including Germany," he told a joint news conference with Merkel.
Obama said a balance must be struck between ensuring the security of citizens and protecting their privacy.
He offered a long explanation to Germans about the controversial programs, which he said involved sweeping up data on phone and Internet traffic, but not delving into the specific content of the calls.
Only if there are leads related to terrorism or the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, would US agents ask a special court to allow them to look deeper into the records, he said.
Merkel told reporters that the Internet was "new territory" for everyone and offered new possibilities to be abused by "enemies and opponents" but urged the need for "proportionality."
Obama insisted the programs run by the National Security Agency were legal and limited and were a vital tool in the fight against global terrorism.
"This is not a situation where we are rifling through, you know, the ordinary e-mails of German citizens or American citizens or French citizens or anyone else," Obama said after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Obama argued that "lives have been saved" because of the use of the surveillance system, including in Germany, where memories of communist Stasi secret police eavesdropping still linger.
"We know of at least 50 threats that have been averted - not just in the US, but in countries around the world, including Germany," he told a joint news conference with Merkel.
Obama said a balance must be struck between ensuring the security of citizens and protecting their privacy.
He offered a long explanation to Germans about the controversial programs, which he said involved sweeping up data on phone and Internet traffic, but not delving into the specific content of the calls.
Only if there are leads related to terrorism or the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, would US agents ask a special court to allow them to look deeper into the records, he said.
Merkel told reporters that the Internet was "new territory" for everyone and offered new possibilities to be abused by "enemies and opponents" but urged the need for "proportionality."
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