Hey NSA, you’re supposed to keep your enemies closer, not your allies.

It’s been a roller coaster of a year for German Chancellor Angela Merkel; she bailed out Greece, won the re-election and now has fallen victim to the research of the National Security Agency (NSA).

German magazine Der Spiegel reported that Merkel’s phone was secretly monitored by the NSA, and a German newspaper stated that in 2010 President Obama was told of the surveillance method. We can all agree that the secret monitoring of our allies might not be the best approach to foreign relations, but how does something like this happen with the president left unawares?

The Huffington Post reported that the NSA denies the claims made by the German media that Obama was aware of the surveillance.

According to the New York Daily News, the NSA has tapped Merkel’s phone since 2002.

White House National Security Council Spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said, “We are not going to comment publicly on every specific alleged intelligence activity.”

Well, that’s reassuring. It sure would be nice to know what’s actually going on for once, and especially when the Guardian reports that Merkel was just one of at least 35 world leaders the NSA has been monitoring.

Our president currently faces a lose-lose situation. If he did know about the phone tapping and failed to mention anything, then he comes across as a liar. However, if he had absolutely no knowledge of this, then he comes across as incompetent.

Although Obama cannot be held completely responsible for everything that happens, he is the one who takes the heat.

It doesn’t look good to the American people when it turns out our president was left in the dark during a potential diplomatic crisis.

It’s no surprise that countries spy on other countries; it would be naive to think otherwise. However, spying on our allies is a waste of time.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said, “Unless the United States is engaged in hostilities against a country or there is an emergency need for this type of surveillance, I do not believe the United States should be collecting phone calls or emails of friendly presidents and prime ministers.”

Last time I checked, not only do we not have a hostile relationship with Germany, but we are also not in an emergency situation that would call for this invasion of privacy.

What exactly was the NSA looking to uncover by keeping tabs on Merkel? New schnitzel recipes? Economic tactics that can save our current debt crisis?

To say the NSA needs some constraints could be the biggest understatement of the year, but this issue will not subside until action is taken.

Right now, our government needs to restore the trust it once had with Germany. And who better to do that than President Obama?

The problem is that Obama looks clueless concerning everything in his administration. In order to regain the American people’s – and our allies’ – trust, Obama needs to radically restructure his approach to foreign relations.

-Dominique Wald is a senior communication major from Santa Clara, Calif. She can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this Column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of Student Publications.