US intelligence official told to leave Germany
Print Edition
GERMANY took the dramatic step yesterday of asking the top US intelligence official in Berlin to leave the country, following two reported cases of suspected US spying and the yearlong spat over eavesdropping by the US National Security Agency.
The move reflects growing impatience in Germany at what is perceived as US nonchalance about being caught spying on a close ally.
“The representative of the US intelligence services at the US embassy has been asked to leave Germany,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert said.
“The request occurred against the backdrop of the ongoing investigation by federal prosecutors as well as the questions that were posed months ago about the activities of US intelligence agencies in Germany,” he said. “The government takes the matter very seriously.”
Seibert said Germany continues to seek “close and trusting” cooperation with its Western partners, “especially the United States.”
Shortly before the decision was announced, Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters that Germany and the United States had “very different approaches” on the role of intelligence agencies.
She stressed the need for greater trust between allies, a position she has repeatedly voiced since reports last year that the NSA eavesdropped on her cellphone.
In separate cases over the past 10 days, one man has been arrested and an investigation against another has been launched on suspicion that they worked for foreign intelligence. German media have reported that the men are suspected of passing secrets to the US.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said that the scope of the cases and who was involved are not yet clear, but that talks are taking place with the United States at various levels.
“If the situation remains what we know now, the information reaped by this suspected espionage is laughable,” de Maiziere said in a statement. “However, the political damage is already disproportionate and serious.”
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble accused the United States of “stupidity” over alleged spying on its European ally.
Schaeuble acknowledged that transatlantic intelligence cooperation had foiled terrorist threats, but said this did not mean “the Americans may recruit third-rate people” in Germany as their secret sources.
“That is just so stupid, and so much stupidity just makes you want to cry,” said Schaeuble, a close ally of Merkel. “That’s why the chancellor is ‘not amused,’” he added, using the English phrase for Merkel’s response to the latest news.
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