Germany, the US and the UK are supposed to be friends. Since the defeat of the Nazis in 1945, the West German (and latterly the unified German) government enjoyed strong economic and military links with its former enemies. This was key to the reconstruction of a war-torn Europe, and has lent an unparalleled stability to Europe.
So last year’s revelations that the NSA-GCHQ plot to heavily monitor telecommunications extended beyond the so-called ‘security’ agencies’ own territories into those of unsuspecting European governments, came as a shock. Outrageously, the personal communications of European leaders were intercepted. It annoyed a lot of our friends Particularly Germany, which spoke of setting up a Continental communications alliance to evade Anglo-American survailance.
Relations with Germany were thus strained. But that, it now appears, is not the whole story.
The CIA has breached the historic ‘no spying’ agreement that all NATO members sign. The pact obliges signatories to refrain from all espionage measures against other NATO governments, including their intelligence agencies. But, according to the Guardian newspaper:
The BND [German intelligence agency] staffer, a technical support worker employed in a unit dealing mainly with the protection of German soldiers abroad, is alleged to have established contact with the American secret service by contacting the US embassy. Rather than report the contact to their allied German counterparts, the CIA is reported to have paid the agent €25,000 (£20,000) for 218 documents classified as confidential or top secret .
It’s bad form to spy on your friends. It’s stupid to provoke an influential country for the sake of a petty intelligence advantage. Indeed, it’s hard to think of a legitimate reason for the CIA to break rules for relatively insignificant (as far as America’s interests are concerned, at least) information.
Germany is perfectly justified in pursuing a strong response to the news, but the matter is controversial: the government has announced that it will adopt counter-espionage measures, and has of course arrested the BND double agent. But the former move has attracted criticism on two counts. Firstly, creating an intelligence arms race between two powers who remain on the same side seems like a waste of time and resources. This is absolutely true. It also is bound to intensify existing tensions, possibly making enemies of the two nations for no good reason.
Secondly, Merkel’s government should decide what it wants to gain: revenge on the United States, or the cessation of the spying that has caused the original problem. In any dispute, it is horrifyingly easy to descend into a tit-for-tat game which usually creates a lot of ill feeling and leaves the original issue unsolved, even forgotten. Those who exercise restraint and pause to think logically about the issue at hand are much more likely to reach a constructive solution. This applies to foreign relations just as much as it does to day-to-day life.
For a start, the German government could politely but firmly insist on an apology from the United States and a firm undertaking that they will not repeat this betrayal. I know, it’s a little feeble. However, the US would be shown in a very bad light if it didn’t agree to such a reasonable request.
If German public opinion demands something a little stronger, then there are better means of applying pressure to the US government. For example, some politicians have suggested that Germany suspends or torpedoes the TTIP, the Euro-American ‘free trade’ deal: after all, it would be foolish to pursue greater economic co-operation with a country that you can’t trust. (Admittedly, I’d be quite happy to see the TTIP blocked anyway.) The Obama administration would be hugely embarrassed to see one of its flagship economic policies ruined because the CIA was ‘nosey’ about the German military.
Let’s hope that the German government stays on the moral high ground, and doesn’t act rashly to further damage its relationship with the US.