NSA and Spain

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24699733

 

A few months back Edward Snowden; the famous whistleblower hit the headlines for leaking thousands of classified documents to the press.  His escape became the center of many national news groups and his situation was monitored closely.  We were told that he had leaked information that would jeopardize relations but I was skeptical with these claims.

   In the last few weeks some Spanish media groups got a hold of some of the classified documents.  In these reports it accuses the NSA (The US intelligence service) of tapping and recording more than 60 million Spanish calls in just one month.  These allegations have caused outcry in Spain with many asking why would a supposed ally spy on them.  The American ambassador to Spain was called to the Spanish missionary to answer some of these questions. 

  Many believe that the Spanish-American relationship has been blown apart, but was Spain really in the unknown on the situation?  Other countries secret intelligence organizations like the British M16 routinely surrender information to the CIA and cooperate on sensitive issues.  So for a country like Spain, that has a very sophisticated intelligence department really be in the unknown with something as big as this? 

  Personally I believe that this known by both parties from the start with a few backdoor agreements.   There’s a lot that the general public, common diplomats and sometimes even head of states don’t know about security issues, and I’m sure many more revelations will show up.