Obviously, the spy agencies spy for all the same reasons they always did. But for the last twelve years, they’ve tried to frame every discussion of spying within the context of terrorism. And they continue to do this. The new list of recommendations for limiting spy activities says things like, “don’t spy on heads of state without presidential authorization.” But when Obama comments on that list of recommendations, he still tries wrap the whole thing into the so-called War on Terrorism.
When he authorized the tapping of Angela Merkel’s phone, it wasn’t because he thought she was Taliban.
