Photo Gallery Merkel's NSA Problem
Since revelations of widespread US data surveillance hit the headlines last month, Chancellor Angela Merkel has insisted she knew nothing about it. New documents seen by SPIEGEL, however, indicate that German intelligence agencies were well informed of US activities.
The US also provided German agencies with XKeyScore, the software it uses to perform Internet surveillance. This image is a slide from a secret NSA presentation that comes from the docoments obtained by whistlerblower Edward Snowden.
US surveillance techniques also allow agents to see which keywords targets used in Internet searches or what places they searched in Google Maps. This slide is also from the secret NSA presentation and helps explain how Google Maps searches can be used to obtain further information about targets.
The documents showing the cooperation between the NSA and Germany's BND are from the papers obtained by whistleblower Edward Snowden, who remains in the Moscow airport while his application for asylum in Russia is being processed.
The construction site of the new center of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's foreign intelligence service, in Berlin. The BND has shown great "eagerness" in recent years to cooperate with the US, according to a secret NSA document seen by SPIEGEL. The NSA also praised the BND for its increased flexibility in interpreting German privacy laws.
NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland. In a papaer from january 2012, the NSA praised Germany's "eagerness and desire" as well as its "willingness to takes risks and to pursue new opportunities for cooperation with the US."
The new revelations are exceedingly uncomfortable for Chancellor Merkel as she campaigns for re-election. Her Interior Minister, Hans-Peter Friedrich, has proven ill-suited as Berlin has sought to uncover the full extent of US data surveillance.
Gerhard Schindler, head of the BND, may find himself in a difficult position as well. Merkel may ultimately need a scapegoat to wriggle out of the tight spot in which she currently finds herself, particularly with just over two months left until the election. Schindler's looser interpretation of German data-protection laws might ultimately cost him his job.
Hans-Georg Maasen is head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic intelligence agency. His office too has worked closely with the NSA and used US surveillance software.
