Snowdon is a dummy

These are different words in German with different meanings. And it's differently defined by different laws.

It certainly might be the very same in the USA. But not here.
My point is: I am talking about the situation as it is in GERMANY and NOT in the U.S.A. .

It is almost certain that Germany spies...just as all other countries almost certainly do. So too with counter-intelligence.

Get over it.

But I think Walter is saying is that Germany is going to spy to find out if the US and Britain are spying on them, not spying to find out what they know or think in a given situation, or spy on our citizens. I know it is all spying, but target and reasons are different.

I thought some time ago, there was already some sort of agreement about not spying on leaders in Germany anymore?

If "counter-espionage" is spying than "detective work" is criminal.

Why even bother saying they wouldn't spy on your leaders except the highest leader considering the Merkel spying was the main source of contention that started all this stuff with Germany and the US in recent years? Makes little sense.

Mrs Merkel called on US officials to clarify the extent of their surveillance in Germany.

The White House said President Obama had told Chancellor Merkel the US was not snooping on her communications.

"The United States is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of the chancellor," White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Wednesday.

Obama also announced that the U.S. would no longer monitor the phone calls and other communications of the heads of states of close friends and allies.

If there was one clear lesson from the dust-up over Ms. Merkel’s cellphone, it was that such operations against allies are almost certainly not worth the damage caused when they are revealed, as they too often are. This is particularly true of Germany, where the public is sensitive about questions of spying and surveillance and where there is currently a generally pro-U.S. government whose cooperation is critical to managing the crisis in Ukraine, negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program and a prospective trans-Atlantic free-trade deal, among other matters.
[...]
Judging from news reports, it appears that, in spite of the review ordered by Mr. Obama, the CIA failed to shut down low-value spying operations whose exposure was bound to inflict new damage on a critical relationship. CIA Director John Brennan may have compounded the trouble with damage-control phone calls that only convinced senior German officials that their demands for explanations were not taken seriously. It’s hard to disagree with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaüble, who said, “So much stupidity just makes you want to cry.”

As we have said before, there are good reasons for operations such as the NSA’s collection of Internet and phone data in Germany and other friendly countries, including defense against terrorists who plot attacks against or from European cities. For a variety of reasons, a no-spying deal with Germany is probably not practicable. That doesn’t mean that intelligence-gathering of the kind apparently revealed this week is sensible. It may compromise the more important counterterrorism work with which German intelligence agencies have quietly cooperated. The revelations fuel anti-Americanism among the German public and strengthen political leaders who would like to loosen Berlin’s ties to the United States.

Ms. Merkel is known both for her pro-American inclinations and for her sensitivity to German public opinion, so her decision to take the extraordinary step of ordering out the CIA station chief shows just how damaging the latest spying revelations have been. Her intent seems to be to induce Mr. Obama to take seriously a matter that, in German eyes, he has brushed off. The correct response would be for him to act quickly and forcefully to repair the damage.

(Reuters) - U.S. surveillance programs are making it more difficult for government officials to speak to the press anonymously, two rights groups said on Monday.

Large-scale surveillance, on top of the Obama administration's crackdown on national security leaks, threatens the freedom of the press and the right to legal counsel, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a joint report.

The National Security Agency's surveillance programs, which include the collection of telephone "metadata," have heightened government officials' concerns about dealing with the media, as "any interaction - any email, any phone call - risks leaving a digital trace that could subsequently be used against them," the report said.

The groups interviewed more than 90 journalists, lawyers, and current or former senior U.S. government officials for the report.

"Journalists told us that officials are substantially less willing to be in contact with the press, even with regard to unclassified matters or personal opinions, than they were even a few years ago," the report said.

The Obama administration has been more aggressive than recent predecessors about silencing leakers, and has charged eight people under the Espionage Act on suspicion of leaking information. In the wake of disclosures by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the administration has stepped up efforts to detect "insider threats" from government employees who might want to leak information.

Many current U.S. surveillance programs go well beyond what is necessary to ensure national security, the report said.

"The U.S. holds itself out as a model of freedom and democracy, but its own surveillance programs are threatening the values it claims to represent," report author Alex Sinha said in a statement.

The report called on President Barack Obama and Congress to reform U.S. surveillance policies, as well as reduce secrecy and provide greater protection for whistleblowers.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in May to end the NSA's bulk collection of telephone data. It is now under consideration in the Senate.

(Reporting by Rebecca Elliott; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Walter Hinteler wrote:

"The United States is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of the chancellor," White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Wednesday.

Source: BBC 23 October 2013

Personally I would hate to think our President knowingly told a bold face lie. Furthermore, I think it does more harm than good to spy on the leaders of our allies.

I don't expect perfection from my friends or family, if they did something against me and then tell me they wont do it anymore, I would trust them. Besides, now Germany does not have to rely on our word, so perhaps, relations will improve. Its something we all should want.

Lies in politics...especially international politics...are an an absolute essential.