Codename “Apalachee”: How the US Spies on Europe and the UN

NSA documents released by former contract worker Edward Snowden suggest that the US has targeted EU, UN and International Atomic Energy Agency offices with surveillance and that US embassies serve as bases for spying activities. The documents were released shortly after the US president had vowed the country's only surveillance interest was to “prevent a terrorist attack.” Such spying has been underway since the 1970s, but the US surveillance machine has ballooned since the September 2001 attacks – and program details, including the budget, are kept secret. The release suggests that the US seeks “information superiority” over allies on security matters, and also technological innovations and trade, energy, food and foreign policies. “The surveillance is intensive and well-organized – and it has little or nothing to do with counter-terrorism,” reports Spiegel Online. Global citizens, including some lawmakers in the US, have plenty of concerns about a program relying on many mysterious and private contract deals, lacking in checks and balances. – YaleGlobal