CIA Driven Away from Berlin

Germany and the United States have often been at loggerheads, but never have the two countries been involved in such a scandal. Yesterday the German government announced it is expelling a diplomat—the CIA chief in Berlin. It is a reaction to a spy scandal which erupted last week. It turned out that Americans had their own spy in the German BND intelligence service. This week, it has come to light that another American spy also operated in the Ministry of Defense. Both of them were led by a CIA resident.

When asked to comment on the issue, at first Chancellor Merkel hid behind arguments about Americans abusing trust, but yesterday she was strict with words. The expulsion of a diplomat of such a high rank is a very drastic move in international relations.

The situation is exceptional, as America has once again been caught red-handed, spying in a country that is its official ally. A year ago, Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency analyst who fled to Russia, revealed that Americans are spying on the Internet all over the world. Next, it turned out that the U.S. also monitored Merkel’s private cell phone.

Then it came to light that the CIA had its spies in Berlin. Germany had to react quickly. However, didn’t it overreact?

There are no doubts that Angela Merkel has scored some points. Her constituents are fed up with being America’s little brother. Merkel has stayed in power for nine years because she is listening to what people say.

A senior German politician and the current Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schauble publicly accused Americans of stupidity. And he’s right. The spy they enlisted was purely interested in money. Once the money the CIA paid him was no longer sufficient he turned his offer to Russia—this is when he was caught by German counter-intelligence. Cooperation with such a man, even if he did provide interesting information, had to end very badly for the U.S.

However, the case might have been solved in secret. Reading news from Germany, I get the impression Berlin is proud that America has learnt a lesson.

In the meantime, Russian intelligence is building up a spy network in German capital. Vladimir Putin has ordered GSB officers to take off their white gloves, roll their sleeves up and start stealing secrets. Russians keep pestering even local politicians. However, none of them has been expelled from Berlin and counter-intelligence admits that they are helpless, because Russian spies are diplomats who are protected by immunity. Chinese diplomats work in Germany in a similar way. Still, Germans don’t express any outrage for this reason.

The whole scandal broke at the worst possible moment, jeopardizing negotiations in a free trade area that is supposed to unite the U.S. and Europe. The Ukraine conflict, which showed how important it is for Europe and America to cooperate, is far from ending. Supporters of conspiracy theories must think that those coincidences are not accidental.

According to the German press, Berlin is considering more retaliatory steps, e.g., to start spying on Americans. It would be really unfortunate if the dispute over U.S. spies expanded to a global spy war. A prolonged argument between allies will harm Europe’s interests. This is why Germany and America have to resolve this as soon as possible. In future, it would be good if German politicians could keep their hair on, and American secret services checked more thoroughly whom they are paying.