The National Security Agency (NSA) head has challenged reports that the U.S. gathered telephone and email data from European citizens and justified the spying on allies as representative of information collected by it and NATO allies.
On Tuesday, October 29, NSA's head Gen. Keith B. Alexander called the reports, which were based on leaks by Edward Snowden "completely false." Per the NSA head, the records were handed over by allies. General Alexander also revealed that the telephone data was collected outside Europe.
"To be perfectly clear, this is not information we collected on European citizens," said the agency's director, Gen. Keith B. Alexander. "It represents information that we and our NATO allies have collected in defense of our countries and in support of military operations."
A report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) disclosed that intelligence services in Spain and France had spied on their own citizens and not the NSA and the former were responsible for the collection of phone records. However, these agencies turned the information over to the NSA as part of the arrangement.
"Widespread electronic spying that ignited a political firestorm in France and Spain recently was carried out by their own intelligence services and not by the National Security Agency, U.S. officials say," reported the WSJ. "The phone records collected by the Europeans--in war zones and other areas outside their borders--then were shared with the NSA, U.S. officials said, as part of efforts to help protect American and allied troops and civilians."
General Alexander and James R. Clapper Jr., director of national intelligence, have both defended the NSA and justified its operations before the House Intelligence Committee. They are of the opinion that espionage is a basic pillar of American intelligence operations that has been prevalent for decades.
"It is one of the first things I learned in intelligence school in 1963. "It's a fundamental given," said Clapper.
The intelligence is invaluable as it gives the U.S. leaders and insight into how other countries, including allies, intend on acting toward the country or how they spy on it. Clapper, however, added that "To be sure, on occasion we have made mistakes."
However, Senator Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, does "not believe the United States should be collecting phone calls or emails of friendly presidents and prime ministers."
Feinstein revealed that a "major review" of the intelligence programs will be conducted by her committee.
