US and Germany to sign no-spy deal

[bemildred]

Source: neurope.eu

US and Germany are about to sign a bilateral no-spy deal, according to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

According to the article, a delegation of German chancellery and intelligence officials reached the deal during talks at the White House the previous week. Sources close to the German government, told the newspaper that the accord is set to be concluded early next year. However, when contacted by AFP, a German government spokeswoman declined to comment.

On 3 November, AFP reported that the German weekly Der Spiegel also reported that a no-spy deal between the US and Germany was being discussed. The weekly said that the two sides have agreed to not carry out industrial espionage on each other. Der Spiegel also said that Keith Alexander, the director of the National Security Agency (NSA), had acknowledged the tapping of the German Chancellor’s mobile phone in the past.

Read more: http://www.neurope.eu/article/us-and-germany-sign-no-spy-deal

[peacebird]

1. Why should anyone trust anything we say?

It's time to defund the NSA. We can't afford to feed our poor or care for our elderly but we can afford to spend untold billions on the NSA?

[arely staircase]

2. or us them nt

[newfie11]

3. That was my thought too. Nt

[Uncle Joe]

17. To my knowledge a no spy treaty has never been signed before so I believe this means something.

If either nation gets caught spying after this treaty, there would be grounds for damages and a definite loss of faith.

In the final analysis, I believe this is step in the right direction and should be expanded to other nations as well.

[quadrature]

4. nobody believes this ...nt

[Jester Messiah]

5. With a wink and a nod on both sides, I'm sure.

This is theater.

[PSPS]

6. U.S. citizens would certainly like one of them "no-spy" deals.

Oh, wait. We already do. Or at least we used to under the Bill of Rights.

[CrispyQ]

13. +1! -nt

[Jesus Malverde]

7. Well that was quick...nt

[bemildred]

9. Just a matter of having the proper motivation.

I expect here will be lots of agreements before this is done. Many trees will be killed, many electrons abused, over this.

[Martak Sarno]

8. Peace in our time!

Wait a minute...haven't we heard this rhetoric before?

[KansDem]

10. Is this similar to the "English-Speaking White Guys Treaty?"

Five Eyes Community

The agreement originated from a ten-page British–U.S. Communication Intelligence Agreement, also known as BRUSA, that connected the signal intercept networks of the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) at the beginning of the Cold War. The document was signed on 5 March 1946 by Colonel Patrick Marr-Johnson for the U.K.'s London Signals Intelligence Board and Lieutenant General Hoyt Vandenberg for the U.S. State–Army–Navy Communication Intelligence Board. Although the original agreement states that the exchange would not be "prejudicial to national interests", the United States often blocked information sharing from Commonwealth countries. The full text of the agreement was released to the public on 25 June 2010.[7]

Under the agreement, the GCHQ and the NSA shared intelligence on the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, and several eastern European countries (known as Exotics).[16] The network was expanded in the 1960s into the Echelon collection and analysis network.[17]

The "Five Eyes" term has its origins as a shorthand for a "AUS/CAN/NZ/UK/US EYES ONLY" classification level.[3]

In July 2013, as part of the 2013 Edward Snowden revelations, it emerged that the NSA is paying GCHQ for its services, with at least £100 million of payments made between 2010 and 2013.[18]

On 11 September 2013, The Guardian released a leaked document provided by Edward Snowden which reveals a similar agreement between the NSA and Israel's Unit 8200.[19]

--more--

So what will this be known as? "Five Eyes and ein Auge?"

[boomersense]

11. Are they selling any bridges too?..........nt

dddd

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

12. Trust, but verify ...

we'll all have to tap each others' phones to make sure no spying is occurring.

So we can trust each other.

[GliderGuider]

15. +1

Nice shot!

[JimboBillyBubbaBob]

14. In harkens back to the days of the pact between...

...Ribbentrop and Molotov!

[Wolf Frankula]

16. Charles Degaulle once said there were three superpowers

the US, the USSR and the CIA. Should that be amended to be the NSA?

Wolf