Spying Between Friends

Barack Obama is not usually at a loss for words — at least not when he recites before a huge audience whatever he and his speech writers have previously planned down to the smallest detail. Which words might he have found to explain to German Chancellor Angela Merkel why she was a “reconnaissance objective” of the National Security Agency (NSA)? Did he say, “Angela, I really didn’t know anything about it”? Or just a “Sorry!” whispered into a phone, which reached Berlin via the — tap-proof? — line out of Washington? Maybe along with the confession, “Yes, we did! But we won’t do it again!”

In any case, the U.S. government is outwardly claiming that Obama had no knowledge Merkel was being spied on. If he had known, he would have stopped it immediately. That seems hardly believable — especially in light of a new report that says since 2002, Merkel has been on a list of people to be monitored. The idea that the NSA is systematically spying on other heads of government without informing the president is hard to imagine. If it is true, Obama has an even bigger problem than calming Merkel down.