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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Barack Obama: Spying must not hurt US-German ties | Barack Obama: Spying must not hurt US-German ties |
| (6 days later) | |
| President Barack Obama has said he will not let controversial surveillance by US intelligence services undermine Washington's ties with Germany. | President Barack Obama has said he will not let controversial surveillance by US intelligence services undermine Washington's ties with Germany. |
| Speaking to Germany's ZDF TV, he indicated that US bugging of Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone had been a mistake and would not happen again. | Speaking to Germany's ZDF TV, he indicated that US bugging of Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone had been a mistake and would not happen again. |
| After the row broke out last year, Mrs Merkel accused the US of an unacceptable breach of trust. | After the row broke out last year, Mrs Merkel accused the US of an unacceptable breach of trust. |
| On Friday, Mr Obama ordered curbs on how intelligence was being collected. | On Friday, Mr Obama ordered curbs on how intelligence was being collected. |
| Personal pledge | Personal pledge |
| On Saturday, the US president told ZDF: "I don't need and don't want to harm that (US-German) relationship by a surveillance mechanism that somehow would impede the kind of communication and trust that we have." | On Saturday, the US president told ZDF: "I don't need and don't want to harm that (US-German) relationship by a surveillance mechanism that somehow would impede the kind of communication and trust that we have." |
| "As long as I'm president of the United States, the chancellor of Germany will not have to worry about this." | "As long as I'm president of the United States, the chancellor of Germany will not have to worry about this." |
| But he added the US intelligence services, like all others, would continue to be interested in what world governments' intentions were. | But he added the US intelligence services, like all others, would continue to be interested in what world governments' intentions were. |
| "There is no point in having an intelligence service if you are restricted to the things that you can read in the New York Times or Der Spiegel, " he said. | "There is no point in having an intelligence service if you are restricted to the things that you can read in the New York Times or Der Spiegel, " he said. |
| "The truth of the matter is that by definition the job of intelligence is to find out: Well, what are folks thinking? What are they doing?" | "The truth of the matter is that by definition the job of intelligence is to find out: Well, what are folks thinking? What are they doing?" |
| It is clear that President Obama thinks there is some repairing of the relationship with Germany to be done, the BBC's Stephen Evans in Berlin reports. | It is clear that President Obama thinks there is some repairing of the relationship with Germany to be done, the BBC's Stephen Evans in Berlin reports. |
| Mr Obama said he and Chancellor Merkel might not always be of the same opinion but that was not a "reason to wiretap", our correspondent adds. | Mr Obama said he and Chancellor Merkel might not always be of the same opinion but that was not a "reason to wiretap", our correspondent adds. |
| The interview was broadcast a day after the president ordered restrictions on the use of bulk data collected by US intelligence agencies, saying civil liberties must be respected. | The interview was broadcast a day after the president ordered restrictions on the use of bulk data collected by US intelligence agencies, saying civil liberties must be respected. |
| Details of the times, numbers and durations of phone calls - known as metadata - are currently collected and held by the National Security Agency (NSA). But Mr Obama said he was ending that system "as it currently exists". | Details of the times, numbers and durations of phone calls - known as metadata - are currently collected and held by the National Security Agency (NSA). But Mr Obama said he was ending that system "as it currently exists". |
| He asked the attorney general and the intelligence community to draw up plans for metadata to be held by a third party, with the NSA requiring legal permission to access them. | He asked the attorney general and the intelligence community to draw up plans for metadata to be held by a third party, with the NSA requiring legal permission to access them. |
| Mr Obama also stressed that such data had prevented terror attacks at home and abroad, but that in tackling threats the government risked over-reaching itself. | Mr Obama also stressed that such data had prevented terror attacks at home and abroad, but that in tackling threats the government risked over-reaching itself. |
| He also pledged that the NSA would not be spying on the leaders of close allies. | He also pledged that the NSA would not be spying on the leaders of close allies. |
| Hero or traitor? | Hero or traitor? |
| Leaked documents last year revealed that the US had spied on friendly foreign leaders, including on the personal mobile phone of German leader Merkel. | |
| A spokesman for Mrs Merkel said on Friday many Germans were "rightfully concerned" by spying reports and that the rights of foreign citizens must be respected. | A spokesman for Mrs Merkel said on Friday many Germans were "rightfully concerned" by spying reports and that the rights of foreign citizens must be respected. |
| He said Berlin would continue to hold confidential talks with the US on "a new clear basis for co-operation amongst intelligence agencies". | He said Berlin would continue to hold confidential talks with the US on "a new clear basis for co-operation amongst intelligence agencies". |
| The leaked documents showed that the US had been collecting and storing almost 200 million text messages every day across the globe, according to the Guardian newspaper and Channel 4 News. | The leaked documents showed that the US had been collecting and storing almost 200 million text messages every day across the globe, according to the Guardian newspaper and Channel 4 News. |
| Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who leaked the information, is wanted in the US for espionage and is now living in exile in Russia. | Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who leaked the information, is wanted in the US for espionage and is now living in exile in Russia. |
| Civil liberties groups see him as a hero for exposing what they see as official intrusions into private lives, but many Americans believe he has endangered American lives. | Civil liberties groups see him as a hero for exposing what they see as official intrusions into private lives, but many Americans believe he has endangered American lives. |