WikiLeaks: NSA Spied on Last Three French Presidents

[Hissyspit]

Source: Business Insider / Associated Press

WikiLeaks: The NSA spied on the last three French presidents

AMANDA MACIAS AND REUTERS JUN. 23, 2015, 5:01 PM 31

The United States National Security Agency spied on French presidents Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande, WikiLeaks said in a news release published on Tuesday, citing top secret intelligence reports and technical documents.

The revelations were first reported in French daily Les Echos and news website Mediapart, which said the NSA spied on the presidents during a period of at least 2006 until May 2012, the month when Hollande took over from Sarkozy.

(Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Mark John)

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/wikileaks-the-nsa-spied-on-the-last-three-french-presidents-2015-6

[OnyxCollie]

1. K&R. nt

[frazzled]

2. We've been spying on France since Benjamin Franklin

Hear it from old Ben, himself, as told to kids by the CIA:
https://www.cia.gov/kids-page/6-12th-grade/operation-history/revolutionary-war.html#Ben

We spied on DeGaulle back in the 1960s when he was blocking us on everything. France also spies on us and our leaders.

[elias49]

3. So nothing to see here?

Is that what you're saying?
I must disagree.
Thanks Wiki! Thanks Assange. Thank you Edward Snowden.

[Mr.Squirreleo]

6. Spying between friendly nations is not new

Countries have been spying on each other since ancient times, and with modern communications it has only became easier.

The problem with the NSA isn't that it is spying on other countries (which is the job of CIA), but that it is spying on US citizens. It the equivalent to two office workers both up for promotion, they might both be friends but if one can get a leg up on the other without the other knowing you can be damn sure he will take it.

Knowing what your allies are going to do before they even tell you helps immensely

[KelleyKramer]

7. So how come we are almost always the one that gets caught?

So if everybody spies on everybody as you are implying ...

Then the US intelligence agencies must really suck at it compared to all the other countries.

And in return for that shitty job, the US spends $billions more on intel than any other nation on earth.

[Mr.Squirreleo]

8. Leakers, and pure size

The US are the ones always getting caught because of the shear size of the shear size of their operations. The worlds largest military needs the world largest spy network to keep it ahead of everyone else.

Also, the only reason we ever heard about any of this is because of leakers from within the system. Sure the occasional tidbit of information would come out before, or the occasional spy operation would be discovered by the press, but they never got any further than a lick into that tootsie pop.

[KelleyKramer]

9. Wow, strawman much?

As for leaking, a large part of it has come from wiki, and he is not American. And as far as I know wiki will take leakers from most countries.

If everybody spies, the US gets busted over and over, more than anyone, anywhere.

Your second strawman even proves my point.

If the US intel is so massive as you point out, that is the problem. They are turning a needle in a hay stack into a needle in one billion haystacks.

These massively expensive corporate intel programs are not effective, they are incompetent and get caught all the time when almost every country in the world gets away with it

It is time to scale back the billions of dollars the US is flushing down the toilet with these incompetent contractor grifters

[Adrahil]

13. Nothing wrong or illegal about conducting foreign intelligence gatheting. n/t

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. Espionnage Élysée

Today, 23 June 2015, WikiLeaks began publishing "Espionnage Élysée", a collection of TOP SECRET intelligence reports and technical documents from the US National Security Agency (NSA) concerning targeting and signals intelligence intercepts of the communications of high-level officials from successive French governments over the last ten years.

The top secret documents derive from directly targeted NSA surveillance of the communications of French Presidents Francois Hollande (2012–present), Nicolas Sarkozy (2007–2012), and Jacques Chirac (1995–2007), as well as French cabinet ministers and the French Ambassador to the United States. The documents also contain the "selectors" from the target list, detailing the cell phone numbers of numerous officials in the Elysee up to and including the direct cell phone of the President.

Prominent within the top secret cache of documents are intelligence summaries of conversations between French government officials concerning some of the most pressing issues facing France and the international community, including the global financial crisis, the Greek debt crisis, the leadership and future of the European Union, the relationship between the Hollande administration and the German government of Angela Merkel, French efforts to determine the make-up of the executive staff of the United Nations, French involvement in the conflict in Palestine and a dispute between the French and US governments over US spying on France.
...
While the German disclosures focused on the isolated fact that senior officials were targeted by US intelligence, WikiLeaks' publication today provides much greater insight into US spying on its allies, including the actual content of intelligence products deriving from the intercepts, showing how the US spies on the phone calls of French leaders and ministers for political, economic and diplomatic intelligence.

https://wikileaks.org/nsa-france/

[rpannier]

5. Don't know why anyone would be surprised

My guess is, we spied on Thatcher in the UK, Schroeder in Germany, etc
They (the French) probably spied on every US President since FDR, probably before
Not saying it's right or a good thing.
But if people are going to be shocked or upset about this...

[jakeXT]

10. François Hollande calls emergency meeting after WikiLeaks claims US spied on three French presidents

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/23/francois-hollande-emergency-meeting-wikileaks-us-spied-three-presidents-france

[Calista241]

11. I bet we knew about Holland's mistress before anyone else did. BFD.

[bemildred]

12. France Calls in US Envoy Over Spying, Holds Security Meeting

PARIS — Angry and embarrassed, France summoned the U.S. ambassador Wednesday to respond to the revelations by WikiLeaks that the U.S. National Security Agency eavesdropped on three successive French presidents and other top officials.

The release of the spying revelations appeared to be timed to coincide with a final vote Wednesday in the French Parliament on a bill allowing broad new surveillance powers, in particular to counter terrorism threats.

French President Hollande, calling the U.S. spying an "unacceptable" security breach, convened two emergency meetings as a result of the disclosures about the NSA's spying. The first was with France's top security officials, the second with leading legislators, many of whom have already voted for the new surveillance measure.

Hollande was to speak Wednesday with President Barack Obama on the issue.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/06/24/world/europe/ap-eu-france-us-spying.html

[Blue_Tires]

14. Anybody who has the nerve to be shocked about this

Please, I implore you to do the first bit of research about the history of French intelligence before you make an even bigger idiot of yourself...