Germany Limits Cooperation With U.S. Over Data Gathering
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Version 0 of 1. BERLIN — Germany has curbed its cooperation with United States intelligence, pushing back against a key ally amid new revelations of spying on Germans and other Europeans that have set off a domestic firestorm. The decision to limit Germany’s collection of information as part of joint intelligence efforts signals a breach in a long and close relationship — one that until now had been protected by Chancellor Angela Merkel, even when documents revealed in 2013 that American surveillance in Europe was so extensive it had swept up her cellphone number. For the United States, it is another blow to its intelligence apparatus, which in the past few weeks has seen a reassessment of its drone program after the inadvertent killing of Americans; an appeals court ruling on Thursday that bulk collection of surveillance data is illegal; and Congress taking up renewal of the U.S.A. Patriot Act. In Germany, it leaves Ms. Merkel still struggling to explain to her critics whether her government had done enough to monitor surveillance by Germans and Americans, and had acted swiftly enough to curtail overreach. She has also maintained that Germany needs the Americans to help keep its 80 million citizens safe. Exactly how the Germans will restrict their cooperation, and the scope of any limitations, is unclear. The decision, reached in secret, was not publicly announced, but was confirmed by sources in Berlin who spoke on the condition they not be identified because of the sensitive security issues. One source suggested the restrictions affect Germany’s involvement in conducting Internet searches, but not in telephone calls. Intelligence officials in Washington suggested the impact may be limited. The restrictions come as many European nations have been moving to broaden their surveillance powers in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France in January, and amid deepening fears over homegrown terrorists. France is in the process of approving a sweeping set of proposals. But for Germans, memories of government spying on private citizens under the Nazi and Communist regimes have made many of them deeply suspicious of the security relationship with the United States, which was formalized in an agreement in 2002, following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. That unease has grown as details of American intelligence programs have dribbled out through the slow release of United States security documents pilfered by Edward J. Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor. Popular German outrage at cooperating with American intelligence has swelled since 2013 when the Snowden documents revealed the extensive sweep of United States data collections in Germany and throughout Europe. Ms. Merkel, then facing re-election, was able to ride out what is known in Germany as “the N.S.A. affair,” and ordinary intelligence operations continued. But distrust of the Americans never went away, and has resurfaced periodically, especially in the news weekly Der Spiegel, which has access to the Snowden document trove. The publication touched off the latest round of anti-American, anti-Merkel sentiment two weeks ago with a report that the German foreign intelligence service, known as the B.N.D., spied on firms and individuals in Germany and Europe at the behest of the N.S.A. Government officials have denied that they participated in spying on companies like Airbus or on other Europeans. But critics said the report showed that Ms. Merkel’s government has been too permissive with the United States and that Berlin repeatedly helped the Americans violate the terms of the 2002 agreement governing the two countries’ intelligence partnership. Members of Ms. Merkel’s chancellery have been called before parliamentary committees to explain what the government knew about the spying, and how it acted upon its knowledge. Critics have demanded that Ms. Merkel’s office produce the list of search terms that the N.S.A. had asked Germany to monitor. Over the past few days, she has said she is in consultations with Washington over what she can release. The restriction in intelligence gathering, which was first reported in German news media, suggests that the Merkel government is feeling pressure to act. The United States has not so far commented publicly on the rift, but intelligence officials in Washington noted that while it is relatively easy for politicians to declare that the process of information sharing is being suspended, it is in fact not that simple. Many intelligence operations are sprawling and complex; lives can depend on cooperation, as Ms. Merkel has emphasized in recent days, noting that United States security is vital in the fight against Islamic terrorism. Asked about reports of the restrictions, Konstantin von Notz, a member of the opposition Green Party who sits on the parliamentary committee investigating the N.S.A. affair, called the German action “a very drastic step.” It shows “that in the year 2015 there is still no control over these search terms for Internet traffic as regards German and European interests,” Mr. von Notz told the public broadcaster ARD. Asked in a later interview about possible motives for the German government action, Mr. von Notz said that opinion polls were beginning to indicate that Ms. Merkel’s popularity was being affected. “She wants to show she is doing something, but the mistakes really lie in previous years,” Mr. von Notz said, referring to concerns that her government did not do enough to push back the N.S.A. after the first Snowden revelations. Opposition politicians have argued that the Berlin government has failed at any point to call out the B.N.D. on its willingness to give the Americans any search results they sought. Der Spiegel, quoting from a closed-door briefing to members of Parliament late Wednesday, said that Gerhard Schindler, the head of the B.N.D., had essentially admitted to lax control over which data had been passed on to the Americans. On Thursday, the parliamentary committee appointed last year to investigate dealings with the N.S.A. held a public session in which two unnamed B.N.D. agents were questioned about their work. Both testified that they had not questioned search terms passed on by superiors, and did not filter out terms from the Americans in monitoring at Bad Aibling, a facility in Bavaria that was built by the Americans but turned over to the B.N.D. in 2004. One of the agents said that he had first been alerted to a potential problem with data collected when summoned to Berlin in March to report on his daily activities. According to Der Spiegel, Mr. Schindler also only learned in mid-March that data requested by the N.S.A. also included data on European partners or individuals. The government of Austria filed suit this week against unidentified persons over possible spying, the Interior Ministry in Vienna said. France, whose officials may also have been targeted, has so far only expressed its trust in the Germans, perhaps because it is currently engaged in its own efforts to give its intelligence services sweeping powers to monitor citizens. |