Room for Debate

October 24, 2013

If We’re Spying, Are We Still ‘Allies’?

Debaters

Introduction

Michael Reynolds/European Pressphoto Agency German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, demanded assurances from President Obama that her phone had not been tapped. French President François Hollande, left, is no stranger to such allegations.

Leaked documents indicate that the U.S. has spied on allies: the European Union, Brazil, France, Germany.

Is this a sign that the concept of “ally” should be redefined? Or, in the modern world, is such surveillance not really “spying”?

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