Germany sought US spy tools in Frankfurt
Iran Press TV
Tue Sep 10, 2013 11:41AM GMT
Germany has reportedly enraged its US ally after it sent a helicopter to look for "listening posts" at the American Consulate in the city of Frankfurt following the disclosure that the National Security Agency (NSA) had also spied on the European nation.
The helicopter flew twice over the US consulate, "just 60 meters above the building," as its German crew and staff took high resolution photographs of probable surveillance devices on its roof, RT reported on Monday.
No listening posts were found, however, during the August 28 flyover, which was confirmed by officials on both sides after being reported by local media outlets.
'The message to the American friends was meant to be: 'Stop. Germany strikes back!,'' major German magazine Spiegel reported, citing an unnamed German official.
Documents leaked by US whistleblower and former NSA contract employee Edward Snowden revealed this summer that the organization has intercepted huge amounts of data exchanged between German citizens without any legal authorization.
The leaked information further revealed that the US maintains spying posts at its embassy and consular buildings around the world. The revelations triggered widespread protest rallies in Germany.
The development comes as thousands of Germans staged a demonstration on Saturday in the capital Berlin to protest against spying activities by the US National Security Agency (NSA) and other intelligence agencies.
According to the organizers of the protest, including the opposition Greens, the Left and Pirates parties, some 20,000 people participated in the demonstration. However, police have not confirmed the figure.
The protesters were also furious at what they regard the German government's lax reaction to the US surveillance activities.
Meanwhile, an insider source told Focus magazine that the US viewed the helicopter incident as a "major provocation," the report adds.
However, officials tried to downplay the situation on Monday as an American spokesman in Frankfurt told a local newspaper that 'The helicopter incident was the subject of an embassy conversation with the foreign ministry but no letter of complaint was sent to the German government."
German representatives, the report adds, neither confirmed nor denied the media's version of events.
According to the report however, the anonymous German official confirmed to Spiegelthat the symbolic flyover was "a gesture of defiance."
"It is a shot across the bow of the Americans,' the source added.
MFB/PR
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