The National Security Agency is at the heart of allegations by the former contractor Edward Snowden that the United States has targeted some of its allies for surveillance.The German news magazine Der Spiegel reports the NSA eavesdropped on European Union offices in Washington, New York and Brussels,and that it has intercepted some half a billion phone calls, emails and text messages in Germany alone.James Bamford has written several book on the NSA. He explains why Germany was a target.“The interest in Germany would be economic, since it is the economic powerhouse in Europe, and political,because whatever happens in Europe pretty much goes through Germany at one point or another, it is being discussed in Germany,” said Bamford.Bamford also pointed out that two of the September 11 hijackers studied in Hamburg, Germany.German officials have expressed outrage at the revelations. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.''We are countries which are friends. There cannot be any justification with security aspects. At this point, clarification is urgently needed," he said.During his recent visit to Tanzania, Obama said that European and Asian intelligence services are also trying to pry information from sources that are not open.
