Not a Particularly Good Argument

Trey Smith

The US National Security Agency was forced on Sunday to deny that its director ever discussed a surveillance operation against the German chancellor with President Barack Obama, as the White House tried to contain a full-scale diplomatic crisis over espionage directed at allied countries.
~ from NSA Denies Discussing Merkel Phone Surveillance with Obama by Paul Lewis ~

Oh, the tangled webs they've weaved!

The Obama administration finds itself between a rock and a hard place. Germany and much of the EU -- as well as quite a few other nations -- are incensed that it has been revealed that the NSA routinely has been spying on the leaders of our allies. Obama can't very well say that either he ordered this spying or, at least, was apprised of it because that would create a serious diplomatic rift with some of our staunchest allies. But the above contention is just as bad, if not worse.

If the NSA has been conducting this sort of spying and the president is not in the loop, then this buttresses the argument that US spy agencies are out of control and must be reined in -- something the Obama administration is strongly opposed to. It says that they are behaving like outlaws in the wild west.

One or the other and neither leaves the US government in a very good light!