The head of US intelligence has told lawmakers
that discerning foreign leaders' intentions is a
key goal of the nation's spying operations.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said
such efforts were a "top tenet" of US intelligence policy.
But he told the intelligence panel of the House of
Representatives the US did not "indiscriminately" spy
on nations.
Mr Clapper was reacting to a growing international row
over reports the US eavesdropped on foreign allies.
"Leadership intentions is kind of a basic tenet of what
we collect and analyse," Mr Clapper said, adding that
foreign allies spy on US officials and intelligence
agencies as a matter of routine.
He said that what he called the torrent of disclosures
about American surveillance had been extremely
damaging and that he anticipated more.
But he said there was no other country that had the
magnitude of oversight that the US had, and that any
mistakes that had been made were human or technical.
The BBC's Jonny Dymond in Washington says if anyone
was expecting apologies or embarrassment from the
leaders of America's intelligence community they were
in for a disappointment.
Also testifying before the House intelligence committee
was National Security Agency (NSA) director Gen Keith
Alexander, who called media reports in France, Spain
and Italy that the NSA gathered data on millions of
telephone calls "completely false".
The information "that led people to believe that the
NSA or United States collected that information is false,
and it's false that it was collected on European
citizens," he added. "It was neither."
Gen Alexander said much of the data cited by non-US
news outlets was actually collected by European
intelligence services and later shared with the NSA.
Gen Alexander added: "It is much more important for
this country that we defend this nation and take the
beatings than it is to give up a programme that would
result in this nation being attacked."
Our correspondent says the intelligence pair were not
given a tough time by the committee but that
sentiment is turning within Congress toward tightening
up the reach of American intelligence agencies.
The testimony came amid a series of reports in the
international news media that the NSA had spied
extensively on the leaders, diplomats and citizens of
nations friendly to the US, including Brazil, France,
Germany, Mexico and Spain.
The revelations stem from documents leaked by fugitive
ex-US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who
now lives in Russia and is wanted in the US in
connection with the unauthorised disclosures.
President Barack Obama has faced significant criticism
over reports he was unaware of the extent of the
spying.
In a television interview, the US president said the
country's national security operations were being
reassessed to ensure the NSA's growing technological
capability was kept under control.
"We give them policy direction," he told ABC's Fusion
network.
"But what we've seen over the last several years is their
capacities continue to develop and expand, and that's
why I'm initiating now a review."
'Totally opposed'
In one of the most significant disclosures, German
media have reported that the US bugged German
Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone for more than a
decade - and that the surveillance only ended a few
months ago.
It has also been reported that the NSA spied on French
diplomats in Washington and at the UN, and that it
conducted surveillance on millions of French and
Spanish telephone calls, among other operations
against US allies.
On Monday, US Senate intelligence committee
chairwoman Dianne Feinstein called for an end to
eavesdropping on leaders of the nation's allies.
Ms Feinstein said the White House had told her such
surveillance would stop, but a senior administration
official told the BBC there was no policy change so far.
"With respect to NSA collection of intelligence on
leaders of US allies - including France, Spain, Mexico
and Germany - let me state unequivocally: I am totally
opposed," she said in a statement.
"It is my understanding that President Obama was not
aware Chancellor Merkel's communications were being
collected since 2002. That is a big problem."
that discerning foreign leaders' intentions is a
key goal of the nation's spying operations.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said
such efforts were a "top tenet" of US intelligence policy.
But he told the intelligence panel of the House of
Representatives the US did not "indiscriminately" spy
on nations.
Mr Clapper was reacting to a growing international row
over reports the US eavesdropped on foreign allies.
"Leadership intentions is kind of a basic tenet of what
we collect and analyse," Mr Clapper said, adding that
foreign allies spy on US officials and intelligence
agencies as a matter of routine.
He said that what he called the torrent of disclosures
about American surveillance had been extremely
damaging and that he anticipated more.
But he said there was no other country that had the
magnitude of oversight that the US had, and that any
mistakes that had been made were human or technical.
The BBC's Jonny Dymond in Washington says if anyone
was expecting apologies or embarrassment from the
leaders of America's intelligence community they were
in for a disappointment.
Also testifying before the House intelligence committee
was National Security Agency (NSA) director Gen Keith
Alexander, who called media reports in France, Spain
and Italy that the NSA gathered data on millions of
telephone calls "completely false".
The information "that led people to believe that the
NSA or United States collected that information is false,
and it's false that it was collected on European
citizens," he added. "It was neither."
Gen Alexander said much of the data cited by non-US
news outlets was actually collected by European
intelligence services and later shared with the NSA.
Gen Alexander added: "It is much more important for
this country that we defend this nation and take the
beatings than it is to give up a programme that would
result in this nation being attacked."
Our correspondent says the intelligence pair were not
given a tough time by the committee but that
sentiment is turning within Congress toward tightening
up the reach of American intelligence agencies.
The testimony came amid a series of reports in the
international news media that the NSA had spied
extensively on the leaders, diplomats and citizens of
nations friendly to the US, including Brazil, France,
Germany, Mexico and Spain.
The revelations stem from documents leaked by fugitive
ex-US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who
now lives in Russia and is wanted in the US in
connection with the unauthorised disclosures.
President Barack Obama has faced significant criticism
over reports he was unaware of the extent of the
spying.
In a television interview, the US president said the
country's national security operations were being
reassessed to ensure the NSA's growing technological
capability was kept under control.
"We give them policy direction," he told ABC's Fusion
network.
"But what we've seen over the last several years is their
capacities continue to develop and expand, and that's
why I'm initiating now a review."
'Totally opposed'
In one of the most significant disclosures, German
media have reported that the US bugged German
Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone for more than a
decade - and that the surveillance only ended a few
months ago.
It has also been reported that the NSA spied on French
diplomats in Washington and at the UN, and that it
conducted surveillance on millions of French and
Spanish telephone calls, among other operations
against US allies.
On Monday, US Senate intelligence committee
chairwoman Dianne Feinstein called for an end to
eavesdropping on leaders of the nation's allies.
Ms Feinstein said the White House had told her such
surveillance would stop, but a senior administration
official told the BBC there was no policy change so far.
"With respect to NSA collection of intelligence on
leaders of US allies - including France, Spain, Mexico
and Germany - let me state unequivocally: I am totally
opposed," she said in a statement.
"It is my understanding that President Obama was not
aware Chancellor Merkel's communications were being
collected since 2002. That is a big problem."
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