White House Says 'All Nations Spy' as France, Mexico Seek Answers over 'Shocking' Espionage Claims
The White House on Monday brushed off France's complaints about new allegations of eavesdropping by a top U.S. espionage agency, saying "all nations" conduct spying operations.
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault earlier said he was "deeply shocked" by reports that the U.S. National Security Agency had secretly monitored tens of millions of phone conversations within France and demanded an explanation.
The White House, in line with its normal procedure, declined to comment on the specific charges which outraged its ally.
"As a matter of policy, we have made clear that the United States gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations," said National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden.
"As the president said in his speech at the U.N. General Assembly, we've begun to review the way that we gather intelligence, so that we properly balance the legitimate security concerns of our citizens and allies with the privacy concerns that all people share."
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said later on Monday that the United States will discuss its global espionage program with France.
"We will have ongoing bilateral consultations including with our French partners that address this question," said Kerry, calling France "one of our oldest allies".
Speaking in Paris after meeting here with Arab League officials, Kerry refused to comment on the specific allegations involving France.
But he noted that Washington was reviewing its intelligence gathering operations in the wake of protests from allied governments over spying allegations.
"Protecting the security of our citizens in today's world is a very complicated, very challenging task... because there are lots of people out there seeking to do harm to other people," Kerry said.
"Lots of countries are engaged in the activity of trying to protect their citizens in the world," he said.
"Our goal is always to try to find the right balance between protecting the privacy and security of our citizens."
Ayrault said during a trip to Denmark that it was "incredible that an allied country like the United States at this point goes as far as spying on private communications that have no strategic justification, no justification on the basis of national defense."
The U.S. ambassador to France, Charles Rivkin, was summoned to the foreign ministry in Paris over the claims, based on leaks from fugitive U.S. ex-security analyst Edward Snowden and published by Le Monde and the German weekly Der Spiegel.
Earlier on Monday, France and Mexico have angrily demanded prompt explanations from the U.S. following "shocking" new spying allegations leaked by Snowden.
The reports published in French daily Le Monde and German weekly Der Spiegel reveal that the U.S. National Security Agency secretly monitored tens of millions of phone calls in France and hacked into former Mexican President Felipe Calderon's email account.
They come on top of revelations also leaked by Snowden and published in June that the U.S. had a vast, secret program called PRISM to monitor Internet users.
Fabius, on a trip to Luxembourg for a meeting with his EU counterparts, said the U.S. ambassador had "immediately" been summoned to his ministry for a meeting Monday morning.
"These kinds of practices between partners that harm privacy are totally unacceptable. We have to rapidly make sure that they are no longer implemented in any circumstance," he told reporters.
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls, meanwhile, described the revelations as "shocking", in an interview with Europe 1 radio.
The spy agency monitored 70.3 million phone calls in France over a 30-day period between December 10 and January 8 this year, Le Monde reported in its online version, citing documents from Snowden.
According to the paper, the NSA automatically picked up communications from certain phone numbers in France and recorded certain text messages under a program code-named "US-985D."
Le Monde said the documents gave grounds to believe that the NSA targeted not only people suspected of being involved in terrorism but also high-profile individuals from the world of business or politics.
Valls said France would demand "precise explanations by U.S. authorities in the coming hours."
U.S. authorities declined comment to the French daily on the "classified" documents.
The Le Monde article followed revelations by Der Spiegel -- also based on documents provided by Snowden -- that U.S. agents had hacked into the Mexican presidency's network, gaining access to Calderon's account.
According to the report, the NSA said this contained "diplomatic, economic and leadership communications which continue to provide insight into Mexico's political system and internal stability."
The agency reportedly said the president's office was now "a lucrative source."
Mexican authorities said they would be seeking answers from U.S. officials "as soon as possible" following the allegations.
"The Mexican government reiterates its categorical condemnation of the violation of privacy of institutional communications and Mexican citizens," Mexico's foreign ministry said in a statement Sunday.
"This practice is unacceptable, illegitimate and contrary to Mexican law and international law," the statement read.
Snowden, who has taken refuge in Russia, is wanted in the United States for espionage and other charges after leaking details of the NSA's worldwide snooping activities that were published in June.
The fugitive had been in hiding in Hong Kong since May and flew to Moscow on June 23, where he stayed in the transit area for more than a month before being given temporary asylum and leaving the airport for a safe location.
U.S. President Barack Obama has since proposed reforms of U.S. surveillance programs in the wake of the furor.
Source: Agence France Presse
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