The US National Security Agency has been repeatedly embarrassed this year by details of its extensive surveillance operations exposed by Edward Snowden, the former contractor. None of these revelations is diplomatically as damaging as his disclosure that the NSA has listened for most of the past decade to the mobile phone conversations of Angela Merkel, the German chancellor. The revelation has triggered deep anger in Berlin while the US has in effect admitted that the allegation is true.
今年,美国国家安全局(NSA)前合同工爱德华•斯诺登(Edward Snowden)披露了NSA大量监听活动的细节,屡次令后者难堪。但说到对外交关系的破坏程度,斯诺登披露的这一切细节都不及他曝光的另一件事:NSA在过去十年的大部分时间里对德国总理安格拉•默克尔(Angela Merkel)的手机通话进行了监听。此事令德国政府大为震怒,而美国也在事实上承认了上述指控属实。