| Report: NSA spied on ‘high priority Israeli military targets’ |
Az amerikai Nemzetbiztonsági Ügynökség (NSA) „elsődleges fontosságú izraeli katonai célpontok” után nyomozott, elsősorban korszerű rakétarendszerek és helyi fejlesztésű drónok információit próbálta megszerezni a The New York Times című amerikai lapra hivatkozó cikk szerint.
Az Amerika Izrael elleni kémkedésének részleteit leíró dokumentumokat Edward Snowden, az amerikai Nemzetbiztonsági Ügynökség (NSA) volt szerződéses alkalmazottja szivárogtatta ki a sajtónak. Ezek szerint az NSA főleg a Rafael fegyvergyártó cég tervezte és készítette drónokról, valamint az Izraelben „fekete veréb” (black sparow) néven emlegetett rakétarendszerről próbált adatokat szerezni.
A Jediót Ahronót című izraeli lap Ynet nevű hírportálja szerint Izrael a kémkedésnek nemcsak tárgya, hanem részese is, ugyanis együttműködési megállapodása révén a 8200-as nevű katonai egység kapott az NSA lehallgatásainak anyagából, amiért cserébe saját maga által gyűjtött adatokkal fizetett.
Szeptemberben a The Guardian című angol nyelvű lap már nyilvánosságra hozta, hogy az NSA megosztotta hírszerzési „nyersanyagát” Izraellel, mégpedig úgy, hogy abból előzőleg nem távolította el az amerikai állampolgárokra vonatkozó információkat.
New York Times cites documents leaked by Edward Snowden as revealing that the U.S. covertly monitored Israeli drones and missile systems while simultaneously exchanging intelligence with IDF • U.S. State Department declines to confirm or deny the report.
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The NSA spied on Israeli drones and Israel’s Black Sparrow missile system, The New York Times reports
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Photo credit: Reuters
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Washington’s National Security Agency spied on „high priority Israeli military targets,” The New York Times reported on Sunday in an extensive report citing documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
The in-depth New York Times overview details the highly classified documents leaked by Snowden, including documents outlining the American intelligence agency’s monitoring of Israeli targets, namely Israel Defense Forces drone aircraft and Israel’s Black Sparrow missile system.
The documents further confirm the reports of past cooperation between the NSA and the elite IDF signal intelligence Unit 8200. According to the report, the intelligence bodies regularly exchanged raw materials obtained by spying.
According to The New York Times, Israel is the most prominent, but not only example of countries that cooperated with the NSA but were also simultaneously targets of covert spying by the same agency.
According to the article, Washington has also invested enormous efforts into spying on enemy countries such as Iran, and enemy groups like Hezbollah.
In an interview set to air on Channel 10 News on Sunday, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman remarked on the reports, praising Israel’s exemplary intelligence capabilities and stressing that it was important for the world to face challenges together, while ensuring that no one steps over the line, and that mutual respect is maintained.
In efforts to calm the concerns of the Israeli public, but stopping short of denying any allegation raised in the report, Sherman said that „I think what makes most sense, for the purposes of your audience, which certainly understands spying and intelligence — Israel has vaunted capabilities in terms of intelligence, which we all are very grateful for because we all rely on the superb intelligence community that Israel has to offer the world — we will all have to talk about these things together, because we all face these challenges together.”
„How, in a world of Internet, telecommunications, enormous capabilities, we make sure that there are not excesses, that we respect each other, that we respect the partnerships and friendships and relationships that we have. We look forward to working together on this issue.”
„I don’t think it is appropriate for me [to confirm or deny the reports] in this setting. I think what’s important is what the president of the United States has said, and that is that he is undertaking a review; he wants to make sure everything we are doing is appropriate; I’m sure that we will be consulting with Israel — a very strong intelligence partner with the United States — on how we are going forward,” she said.
The report comes on the heels of outrage in Europe over the revelation that the U.S. eavesdropped extensively on European leaders, including tapping German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry remarked on the affair, acknowledging for the first time that the NSA’s surveillance may have been overzealous.
In a video conference, Kerry said that „in some cases, I acknowledge to you, as has the president, that some of these actions have reached too far, and we are going to make sure that does not happen in the future.”
On Saturday, The Guardian reported that the U.S. was not alone in the spying business. Germany’s foreign intelligence agency confirmed that it swaps information on the latest technological developments with its European counterparts, but denied the report that it tried to bypass legal restrictions on Internet surveillance to be able to use advanced technology developed by the British.
The Guardian cited documents released by Snowden according to which Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters spy agency helped their German counterparts to change or bypass domestic laws.
„It is not true that the Federal Intelligence Agency allegedly tried to circumvent legal restrictions in order to use British surveillance technology,” said Martin Heinemann, a spokesman for the agency, which is known by its German acronym BND.
Heinemann said that the exchange between the two agencies, which took place in 2008, focused „not on legal, but on technical questions” related to mooted surveillance regulation reforms in Germany that were never implemented.
He acknowledged, though, that the BND swaps tech tips with friendly agencies in Europe.
„A regular exchange of information about technological developments takes place with other European agencies,” said Heinemann.
The extent to which Western intelligence agencies cooperate on Internet surveillance has come under public scrutiny since Snowden first released documents about the work of the NSA in June.
This cooperation has been called into question following reports that some of the agencies are spying on friendly nations’ leaders.
