Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-California, has made recent remarks that she accepts Israel’s denial of spying on the U.S. at “face value.” The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee met with top Israeli Defense officials and was quoted as saying “He was very direct in saying this is totally false, and he assured me that such was not the case.” Sen. Feinstein did not go as far as to say that she endorsed the denial however. She said she will reserve her final judgement until she’s had a chance to review the truth behind the Newsweek article that brought Israel under fire to begin with.
Israeli National Security and Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz believes that someone is “trying to maliciously and intentionally harm relations between Israel and the United States.” Though the claims were not likely made to act as a deliberate cleaver between the two nations, it is hard to deny that relations between the U.S. and Israel have been less than ideal. Israel has received less public support from the Obama administration than some of his predecessors, but this does not mean that the two countries are at ends with one another.
The U.S. should be careful to point fingers as to who is spying on who. The president of Brazil had recently canceled a diplomatic visit to Washington D.C. over allegations of U.S. spying on high-ranking Brazilian government officials. Germany had also accused the U.S. of spying on its government officials as well as other U.S. allies in the European Union. The spying sword is double sided. Whether the Israeli spying allegations are true or false, the U.S. can not wiretap the entire world and then cry foul when they find themselves victim of the same practices.
Photo: feinstein.senate.gov
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