The Americans must understand that they can not treat us like Iran or Syria!
While
the BBC reports US intelligence chief James Clapper denying reports that US spies recorded data from as many as 70 million phone calls in France in a single 30-day period, one of the ruling socialist party's leaders in the National Assembly says that "The United States has no allies, only targets or vassals":
A very strong response is needed, as advocated by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister. But the situation is not an easy one, because our reaction can only come within the political and diplomatic realm. Indeed, it can not be legal because in the field of intelligence, the law will always be slower than technology, and international law proves incomplete.
However, it is extremely important to remind the United States that we are allies, and that since the birth of their nation. However, we can not behave towards allies as we do towards opponents or enemies. Such a relationship involves trust and reciprocity. The Americans must understand that they can not treat us like Iran or Syria!
Ultimately, this new twist reveals that the United States does not have allies, it only has targets or vassals. France is neither one nor the other. We felt that our discussions were on a balanced level, clearly this is not the case. This requires a readjustment and an uncompromising development.
That's smart diplomacy fer ya.
Il faut une réponse extrêmement ferme, à l'instar de la position
défendue par le premier ministre et le ministre des affaires étrangères.
Mais la situation n'est pas aisée, car la réaction peut uniquement être
diplomatique et politique. En effet, elle ne peut pas être juridique
puisque, dans le domaine du renseignement, le droit sera toujours moins
rapide que la technique, et le droit international s'avère lacunaire.
Cependant, il est très important de rappeler aux Etats-Unis que nous
sommes leurs alliés, et ce depuis leur origine. Or, on ne peut pas se
comporter envers des alliés comme avec des adversaires, voire des
ennemis. Pareille relation implique de la confiance et de la
réciprocité. Les Américains doivent comprendre qu'ils ne peuvent pas
nous traiter comme l'Iran ou la Syrie !
Au final, cette nouvelle péripétie révèle que les Etats-Unis n'ont
pas d'alliés, ils n'ont que des cibles ou des vassaux. La France n'est
ni l'un ni l'autre. Nous avions l'impression que nos échanges étaient
équilibrés, manifestement ce n'est pas le cas. Il faut donc un
réajustement et une mise au point sans concession.
The BBC:
The paper laid out how US spies used computer bugs and phone-tapping
techniques to monitor French diplomats at the UN and in Washington.
German magazine Der Spiegel had previously reported the
monitoring of French diplomats, and the Washington Post had revealed the
existence of a global cyber-spying programme called Genie.
But Le Monde's story gives details of how US agents used the
intelligence, apparently gathered from French diplomats under the Genie
programme.
It quotes a document issued by a directorate of the NSA as
stating that the data helped the US sway a Security Council vote on a
resolution imposing new sanctions on Iran on 9 June 2010.
The US had apparently feared losing the vote, and needed French support.
The document quotes America's former UN envoy Susan Rice as
saying the NSA's information helped the US "keep one step ahead in the
negotiations".
