Spying on allies needs official OK
Sources say it’s ‘ridiculous’ to believe White House in dark
WASHINGTON — The White House and State Department signed off on secret surveillance operations that targeted phone conversations of friendly foreign leaders, current and former U.S. intelligence officials said Monday, pushing back against assertions that President Barack Obama and his aides were unaware of the high-level eavesdropping that has caused strains with close allies.
Professionals at the National Security Agency and other U.S. intelligence agencies, these officials say, feel cast adrift by a president they believe is trying to distance himself from the growing flood of embarrassing disclosures by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
The resistance emerged as the White House said that it would curtail foreign intelligence collection in some cases, as yet another ally, Spain, formally protested U.S. spying.
France, Germany, Italy, MexicoandSwedenallhave publicly complained about the NSA surveillance operations, which apparently captured private cellphone conversations by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, among other foreign leaders.
Precisely how the surveillance is conducted is unclear. But if a foreign leader is targeted for eavesdropping, the relevant U.S. ambassador and the National Security Council staffer at the White House who deals with the country are given regular reports about the intelligence gleaned, said two former senior intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss classified information.
Obama may not have been briefed on specific NSA operations targeting a foreign leader’s cellphone or email communications, oneof the officials said. “But certainly the National Security Council and senior people across the intelligence community knew exactly what was going on, and to suggest otherwise is ridiculous.”
Some U.S. intelligence officials complained Monday that they are being unfairly blamed by the White House for conducting surveillance that was authorized under the law and utilized at the White House.
“People are furious,” said a senior intelligence official whowould not be identified discussing classified infor-