DHAKA: The political uproar over alleged US eavesdropping on close European allies has produced an unusual defence from the National Security Agency.

NSA says it was the Europeans themselves who did the spying, and then handed data to the Americans, reports The Jerusalem Post.

It is rare for intelligence officials to speak in any public detail about liaison arrangements with foreign spy agencies because such relationships are so sensitive.

Even more unusual is for the United States to point fingers at partners.

But that is what NSA Director General Keith Alexander did at a public congressional hearing on Tuesday when, attempting to counter international complaints about the agency’s alleged excesses, he said its sources for foreign telecommunications information included ‘data provided to NSA by foreign partners’.

Alexander’s disclosure marked yet another milestone in NSA’s emergence from the shadows to defend its electronic surveillance mission in the wake of damaging revelations by former agency contractor Edward Snowden.

‘It is true that in general we stay close-mouthed about intelligence liaison relationships and we only speak in the most general terms about sharing things with our friends and allies,’ said Paul Pillar, a former senior CIA analyst.

BDST: 1445 HRS, OCT 31, 2013
RoR/JCK