President Obama Considering Banning Spying on Allied Leaders

President Obama is considering ordering the National Security Agency to stop spying on leaders, administration and congressional officials of American allies after reports surfaced that the N.S.A has spied on allied leaders, such as Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. 

The White House told leading Democratic lawmaker Senator Dianne Feinstein of its plans, The New York Times confirms. The impending decision has come out of a broader concern about questionable intelligence-gathering methods, which was prompted by former N.S.A contractor's Edward J. Snowden's leak of classified N.S.A documents. 

On Monday, Feinstein said in a statement, "I do not believe the United States should be collecting phone calls or emails of friendly presidents and prime ministers." Feinstein said the Senate Intelligence Committee would begin a "major review of all intelligence collection programs."

The White House has not made a final decision regarding prohibiting the surveillance of allied leaders. But the fact that it will probably enact the measure is a big step for the N.S.A, which has used it powers to collect data on tens of millions of people worldwide, from regular citizens to state leaders, including the leaders of Mexico and Brazil. 

"We have already made some decisions through this process and expect to make more," said a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, Caitlin M. Hayden. She said a review of practices would be completed in December. 

The administration will uphold the right to continue collecting intelligence information in friendly countries if it pertains to criminal activity, terrorist threats or the proliferation of unconventional weapons. It will also allow surveillance if an ally turns hostile or threatens the U.S.

The White House has faced increasing anger from Germany and other European allies over its overreaching surveillance. Senior officials from Merkel's administration intend to come to Washington to express their anger to the Obama Administration. They are expected to ask for a no-spying agreement, similar to what the U.S. has with Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, which are known as the Five Eyes. 

"We have intel relationships that are already very close," said a senior official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "There are other types of agreements you could have: cooperation, limits on intelligence, greater transparency. The countries on the top of the list for those are close European allies."

The N.S.A said that it did not inform President Obama of its monitoring of Chancellor Merkel, which began in 2002 and was not suspended until last summer, when the theft of data by Edward Snowden was discovered. 

The N.S.A not only collected numbers she called, but also listened in on her conversation, according to current and former administration officials. 

European Union officials and members of the European Parliament also want to tell Washington that N.S.A spying is unacceptable, and has weakened trust between the U.S. and allied nations. "The key message is there is a problem," said Silvia Kofler, a spokeswoman for the European Union. "We need to re-establish the trust between partners. You don't spy on partners."