Photo Gallery Monitoring the EU and UN

The American intelligence agency NSA keeps a close watch on the European Union and the UN headquarters, as well as spying from embassies and consulates around the globe.
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The American intelligence agency NSA keeps a close watch on the European Union and the UN headquarters, as well as spying from embassies and consulates around the globe. Obama recently insisted that NSA surveillance was purely for counter-terrorism. But internal NSA documents appear to indicate otherwise.

Michael Reynolds/ picture alliance / dpa
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NSA documents obtained by Edward Snowden and seen by SPIEGEL describe how the NSA gained access to EU communication between its representations in Washington and New York. In 2005, the US ambassador to the EU raved: "I had no idea I would receive such detailed information."

Patrick Seeger/ dpa
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The NSA documents seen by SPIEGEL also show that the US intelligence agency has managed to penetrate deeply into the UN. In June of last year, a report notes that the NSA had gained access to the UN's internal teleconferencing system.

JEFF ZELEVANSKY/ AFP
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NSA Director General Keith Alexander testifying before a House Select Intelligence Committee hearing in June. One of the agency's programs, code-named Rampart-T, is focused on the "penetration of hard targets at or near the leadership level."

Jim Lo Scalzo/ picture alliance / dpa