The CIA has stopped spying on allied governments in Western Europe in response to anger over a German caught selling intelligence documents to the United States and the Edward Snowden revelations of spying by the National Security Agency, according to an Associated Press exclusive.
In early July, following the arrest of a German intelligence officer who admitted to passing information to CIA agents about a parliamentary investigation into the NSA’s surveillance program, the German government ordered the expulsion of a CIA station chief operating in Berlin. In 2013, Snowden’s leaked NSA documents revealed German Chancellor Angela Merkel was among foreign officials being monitored by the agency. Both events increased tensions between the U.S. and Germany.
According to the AP, the “stand-down” was put in effect about two months ago, in order to “give CIA officers time to examine whether they were being careful enough and to evaluate whether spying on allies is worth running the risk of discovery, said a U.S. official who has been briefed on the situation.”
As part of the “pause,” case officers in Europe may not meet with sources within allied governments, a practice the AP describes as “the bedrock of spying.”
“The spying stand-down comes at an inopportune time,” AP notes, “with the U.S. worried about Europeans extremists going to fight in Syria, Europe’s response to Russian aggression and European hostility to American technology companies following revelations the companies turned over data to the NSA. While the U.S. cooperates closely with Europe against terrorism, spying can help American officials understand what their allies are planning and thinking, whether about counterterrorism or trade talks.”
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