U.S.-German Ties Lower Than Iraq War

File photo of US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) standing in front of a window with a view of the German Parliament building Reichstag during a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin July 24, 2008. Relations between Germany and the United States are worse now than during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq a decade ago, a leading ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel said January 16, 2014, in a sign of mounting anger in Berlin over American spying tactics. REUTERS/Jim Young/Files

Spying Plunges U.S.-German Ties Lower Than Iraq War: Merkel Ally -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Relations between Germany and the United States are worse now than during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq a decade ago, a leading ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday, in a sign of mounting anger in Berlin over American spying tactics.

Philipp Missfelder, foreign policy spokesman for Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) in parliament, said Berlin should bar U.S. access to a database of international financial transactions unless Washington promises to stop spying in Germany. The lawmaker is expected to be confirmed soon as the government coordinator for U.S. ties.

Reports this week have suggested talks on a "no spying" deal, launched after revelations last year that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) had monitored Merkel's mobile phone, are near collapse because Washington refuses to rule out eavesdropping on one of its closest post-war allies.

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My Comment: The difference between Iraq and the NSA (for the Germans) is that it is now personal .... it is their messages, texts, and conversations that are being monitored while the Iraq war was just another conflict in the Middle East and it was not impacting them personally.