美官员称：白宫批准监控盟国领导人
A senior U.S. official late Monday disputed Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein’s assertion that the United States has stopped all spying on allies.
Amid a global uproar over American surveillance activities, Feinstein (D.-Calif.) had announced earlier that “the White House has informed me that collection on our allies will not continue, which I support.”
National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden, in a statement emailed to reporters, said the White House worked closely with Feinstein but would not confirm the senator’s assertion. “I’m not going to go into the details of those private discussions, nor am I going to comment on assertions made in the Senator’s statement today about U.S. foreign intelligence activities,” Hayden said.
A senior administration official, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, later told Yahoo News that Feinstein’s claim was “not accurate.” The official said there had been “some individual changes” to the policy, “we have not made across-the-board policy changes” like “terminating intelligence collection that might be aimed at allies.”
Leaders in Germany, France, Mexico, Spain, Brazil, and other friendly countries have complained loudly about revelations that the United States spy agencies targeted their citizens and leaders. The White House has said in recent days that the United States "will not" spy on German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Feinstein said in her statement that she is “totally opposed” to the National Security Agency collecting intelligence on allied leaders – and vowed that her committee would “initiate a major review into all intelligence collection programs.”
“Unless the United States is engaged in hostilities against a country or there is an emergency need for this type of surveillance, I do not believe the United States should be collecting phone calls or emails of friendly presidents and prime ministers,” she said. “The president should be required to approve any collection of this sort.”据《洛杉矶时报》10月28日报道，对于奥巴马及其助手不知监控外国领导人一事的说法，美国情报官员透露透露，正是白宫批准对盟国领导人的间谍行动。
***西班牙加入抗议队伍
日前，西班牙《世界报》援引美国国家安全局（NSA）前雇员爱德华·斯诺登泄露的文件报道称，在2012年12月至2013年1月间，该国超过6000万的电话数据遭到美国情报机构监控。此事一经曝光，立即在西班牙引发轩然大波。
当地时间28日，西班牙外交部召见美国驻马德里大使，要求其对美国国安局在西班牙进行大规模监控的相关指控进行解释。西班牙官员称，倘若上述指控被证明为真，将是“不恰当且无法接受的”。
由此，继德国、法国、墨西哥、巴西等国家之后，西班牙也加入公开声讨美国大规模监控活动的队伍。因其国家领导人和普通公民成为美国情报机构的监控对象，这些“友国”开始大声指责美国的不当之举，国家间的友好合作也备受打击。
***监控活动白宫知情
35名国家领导人的电话遭美国国安局监听一事被斯诺登曝光后，白宫方面一直坚称，美国总统奥巴马及其助手对于此类高层监听活动并不知情。然而，事实似乎并非如此。
多名现任和前任美国情报官员28日表示，白宫和美国国务院签署了对盟国领导人进行电话监听的相关协议。根据两名前高级情报官员的说法，按照惯例，如果某个国家的领导人被列为监听目标，美国驻该国大使以及白宫国家安全委员负责该国事务的工作人员都会定期收到报告，“奥巴马可能没有就国安局针对某一位国家领导人的监控行动专门接受过简报，但是，（白宫）国家安全委员会和情报界高层必然知晓行动的详情，否则就太荒谬了！”
还有官员称，假如美国情报机构监控外国领导人对白宫而言是一个“新闻”，那么只能说明白宫官员没有看过放在桌上的简报。据称，美国国安局和其他情报机构的专业人员现在十分生气，因为他们觉得被抛弃了，“斯诺登的爆料令美国与其盟国的关系变得紧张，奥巴马努力与此事保持距离，显然他是在刻意撇清关系”。
***美停止监控盟友？
美国国会参议院情报特别委员会主席黛安娜·范斯坦28日发表声明称，她反对美国情报机构对盟国领导人实施监控，国会将对所有情报监控项目进行彻查。“除非是（美国的）敌对国或者事出紧急，否则美方不应搜集友好国家领导人的电话和电邮记录。不过，白宫告知我不会继续进行针对美国盟友的情报收集活动，对此我很支持。”
当天晚些时候，美国白宫国家安全委员会发言人凯特琳·海登对范斯坦的说法提出质疑。在一封写给媒体的电邮中，海登称尽管白宫与范斯坦在工作中保持紧密合作，但白宫对其声明不予置评，“我不会讲述细节，也不作评论”。
另一外不愿具名的美政府高级官员则明确表示，范斯坦的说法“不准确”。这位官员称，美国的情报收集政策只是略作调整，“没有发生停止可能针对盟国的情报搜集活动等大的全盘改变”。
