Germany is expelling the CIA chief in Berlin in retaliation for the latest espionage scandal.<\/p>\n
The expulsion comes shortly after two alleged US agents were unmasked, suspected of acting as double agents within the state security apparatus, and passing secrets to US intelligence contacts.<\/p>\n
The move was \u201ca reaction to persistent failure to work together in efforts towards clarification,\u201d according to the chief of the Parliamentary Control Panel.<\/p>\n
The two new cases, which came in quick succession of one another, increase the strain on already tense relations after the revelations made about the extent of global NSA espionage in June, 2013.<\/p>\n
Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized the spy\u2019s presence in Germany, stating that when common sense is switched on, \u201cspying is ultimately a waste of force,\u201d reported Der Spiegle.<\/p>\n
She added that in 21st century intelligence work, there should be a strong focus on the essentials rather than that which is just technically possible \u2013 to the point that \u201cone can\u2019t see the wood because of all the trees,\u201d Merkel said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe order arose against the backdrop of the ongoing investigation by the General Prosecutor’s Office, in addition to existing issues in recent months surrounding the actions of US intelligence agencies in Germany,\u201d said the document.<\/p>\n
The US stated on Thursday that it was imperative that the two nations continued to cooperate on intelligence and security matters.<\/p>\n
“We have seen these reports and have no comment on a purported intelligence matter. However, our security and intelligence relationship with Germany is a very important one and it keeps Germans and Americans safe,” White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden told Reuters.<\/p>\n
“It is essential that cooperation continue in all areas and we will continue to be in touch with the German government in appropriate channels,” she added.<\/p>\n
A 31-year-old intelligence officer was arrested last week, and further reports on Wednesday indicated that a German soldier was also being investigated.<\/p>\n
According to German newspaper Die Welt, the soldier was said to have made \u201cintensive contacts\u201d with alleged US intelligence officials, and had been under surveillance by Military Intelligence (MAD) for some time.<\/p>\n
The US has not yet denied allegations that the German intelligence official was passing classified information to the NSA.<\/p>\n
In a report published on Monday, two unidentified government officials told Reuters of the CIA\u2019s involvement in the operation, which led to the recruitment of the 31-year-old suspected spy, who is now in the custody of German officials.<\/p>\n
The man was alleged to have passed the Americans 218 secret documents in exchange for \u20ac 25,000 ($34,100), and having been a double agent for them for two years through meetings with his contact in Austria and passing on secret documents on a USB stick.<\/p>\n
Last October, Merkel was enraged to learn she was allegedly on the NSA\u2019s tapping list since 2002. The Chancellor called the alleged spying, which became known thanks to Edward Snowden\u2019s leaks, “unacceptable.”<\/p>\n
A German parliamentary committee has since been holding hearings on the NSA\u2019s spying activities in Germany.<\/p>\n
Source: RT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Germany is expelling the CIA chief in Berlin in retaliation for the latest espionage scandal. The expulsion comes shortly after two alleged US agents were unmasked, suspected of acting as double agents within the state security apparatus, and passing secrets to US intelligence contacts. The move was \u201ca reaction to persistent failure to work together … Continue reading “Germany expels CIA chief in Berlin”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2961,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,3],"tags":[1235,51,3030,2956,3355],"class_list":["post-14678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe","category-news","tag-cia","tag-germany","tag-nsa","tag-spying","tag-surveillance"],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2961"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14678"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14679,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14678\/revisions\/14679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}