Reuters/Dar es Salaam
US President Barack Obama tried yesterday to reassure European allies affronted by reports of US spying, but suggested all the world’s intelligence services were involved in finding out the thinking of opponents and allies alike.
The EU has demanded that the US explain a report in a German magazine that Washington is spying on the bloc, saying that, if true, such surveillance was shocking.
French President Francois Hollande called the alleged spying intolerable, saying it could hinder US relations with Paris and the European Union. “We want this to stop fast,” he said.
Obama, on a visit to Tanzania, promised to supply all the information requested by European allies regarding the spying allegations, which he said Washington was still evaluating.
“Every intelligence service, not just ours, but every European intelligence service, every Asian intelligence service, wherever there’s an intelligence service, here’s one thing they’re going to be doing: they’re going to be trying to understand the world better and what’s going on in world capitals around the world from sources that aren’t available through the New York Times or NBC News,” Obama said.
“If that weren’t the case, then there would be no use for an intelligence service. And I guarantee you that in European capitals, there are people who are interested in - if not what I had for breakfast - at least what my talking points might be should I end up meeting with their leaders. That’s how intelligence services operate.”
His secretary of state, John Kerry, who is in Brunei for an Asian security conference, said the US was not alone in using “lots of activities” to safeguard its security.
Revelations about the US surveillance programme, which was made public by fugitive former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, have raised a furore in the US and abroad over the balance between privacy rights and national security.
The Guardian newspaper said on Sunday the US had also spied on non-European allies, including Japan, South Korea and India - all represented at the Asian security conference. Page 21
Bush: Snowden ‘damaged’ national security
Former president George W Bush defended US surveillance programs in an interview broadcast yesterday.and said intelligence leaker Edward Snowden had “damaged” national security by disclosing them.
“I know he damaged the country and the Obama administration will deal with it,” Bush told CNN in an interview broadcast in full yesterday.
“I think he damaged the security of the country,” added Bush, who spoke to the network in Zambia, where he and wife Laura Bush were travelling on a humanitarian mission.
“I put the program in place to protect the country and one of the certainties is civil liberties were guaranteed,” Bush said.
“Ultimately, history will judge the decisions I made. I won’t be around because it’s going to take a while for the objective historians to show up.