德國稱默克爾手機可能遭美國監聽

Germany said it believed that U.S. intelligence agencies may be spying on Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone, an intrusion that could escalate the international furor over U.S. data surveillance and complicate Washington's relationship with one of its staunchest allies.

德國說，該國相信美國情報機構可能在監聽該國總理默克爾(Angela Merkel)的手機。美國的這一做法可能令國際上因美國數據監控引發的喧囂升級，並令美國與其最堅定盟友之一的關係複雜化。

Ms. Merkel spoke by phone with President Barack Obama on Wednesday and made clear that such surveillance among allies would be 'fully unacceptable' and a 'grave breach of trust,' her spokesman said in a statement released late Wednesday in Berlin.

默克爾的發言人在柏林周三晚間發表的一則聲明中說，默克爾週三通過電話與美國總統奧巴馬(Barack Obama)交談，明確表示盟國之間這樣的監控行爲“完全不可接受”，是對互信的嚴重踐踏。

Mr. Obama assured the German leader that the U.S. isn't monitoring her communications and won't in the future, a White House spokesman said. He wouldn't say whether it had occurred in the past.

白宮的一名發言人說，奧巴馬向默克爾保證，美國並沒有在監聽她與外界的通訊，未來也不會這麼做。這名發言人不願說明這種監聽行爲過去是否發生過。

The uproar in Berlin is the latest sign that the National Security Agency scandal has the potential to continue to inflict damage on Washington's relationships with overseas partners. Earlier this week, Mr. Obama called French President Francois Hollande, who expressed his 'deep disapproval' over reports that the NSA was collecting data on tens of millions French phone calls and messages. Reports of U.S. spying on Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff as well as Mexico's Enrique Pena Nieto during his successful presidential campaign have already strained the U.S. relationship with Latin America.

在柏林引發的這場騷動是最新的一個跡象，顯示美國國家安全局(National Security Agency)醜聞可能繼續給華盛頓與海外合作伙伴之間的關係造成損害。本週早些時候，奧巴馬致電法國總統奧朗德(Francois Hollande)，奧朗德對有報道指美國國安局收集數千萬法國電話和短信記錄表示強烈不滿。還有報道說，美國也在針對巴西總統羅塞夫(Dilma Rousseff)從事間諜活動，並在墨西哥總統涅託(Enrique Pena Nieto)參加總統選舉過程中對其進行間諜活動，相關報道已經令美國與拉丁美洲的關係承壓。

The German government's sharply worded statement came after it looked into an inquiry from the weekly Der Spiegel, the magazine reported. Der Spiegel said U.S. spies may have specifically targeted Ms. Merkel's cellphone -- as opposed to having just intercepted her communications as part of a broader dragnet.

德國《明鏡》 (Der Spiegel) 週刊報道，德國政府在發表措辭嚴厲的聲明之前審讀了該週刊的一項調查。《明鏡》說，美國間諜可能已經特定把默克爾的手機作爲目標，而不是作爲更廣泛行動的一部分僅僅對她的通訊實施攔截。

German intelligence followed up on the information and determined it may be true, according to the magazine, leading to the tense phone call with the White House.

該週刊說，德國情報機構跟進了這一信息，發現這種情況可能是真的，因此才發生了言辭激烈地致電白宮的事情。

There was no information as to how Ms. Merkel's phone was monitored or what information the U.S. gleaned.

至於默克爾的手機是如何被監聽的，或是美國得到了什麼信息，目前尚無相關信息。

If true, the allegations would present Washington with an even more serious diplomatic challenge that could affect a range of economic and security issues.

上述指控如果屬實，華盛頓將面臨一個更加嚴重的外交挑戰，可能對一系列經濟和安全問題造成影響。

Germany, a member of the Group of Seven leading economies and the dominant economic force in Europe, is a crucial partner for the U.S. on a range of international issues, from combating the euro-zone crisis to negotiating a trans-Atlantic free-trade agreement.

德國是由經濟發達國家組成的七國集團的成員，也是歐洲處於主導地位的經濟力量，在從應對歐元區危機到泛大西洋自由貿易協定談判的一系列國際問題上都是美國至關重要的夥伴。

Ms. Merkel has played an important role in talks over global hot spots like Syria and Iran, and Germany is home to the U.S. military's most important bases in Europe. In 2011, Mr. Obama hosted Ms. Merkel in Washington for a state dinner.

在有關敘利亞和伊朗等全球熱點地區的談判方面，默克爾一直扮演着重要角色，而且美國在歐洲最重要的軍事基地就位於德國。2001年，奧巴馬曾在華盛頓設國宴招待默克爾。

Given the depth of the relationship between the two countries and Germany's long-standing support of the U.S., it is unclear why U.S. intelligence might target her. Mr. Obama said over the summer, as allegations about NSA spying first surfaced, that he could simply call Ms. Merkel if he needed to know what she was thinking.

考慮到兩國之間非常深遠的關係，而且長期以來德國都是美國的支持者，美國情報機構爲什麼會以默克爾爲目標，原因尚不明瞭。奧巴馬在夏季的時候說，如果想要知道默克爾在想什麼，只需要簡單地給她打個電話就行了。當時有關美國國安局從事間諜行爲的指控剛剛浮出水面。

But Ms. Merkel conceivably may have been targeted for advance knowledge of Germany's positions before a major summit, or to understand Germany's relations with countries like Iran and Russia, said James Lewis, a former State Department official who is now a technology-policy specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

但前國務院官員劉易斯(James Lewis)說，但可以想見的是，美國針對默克爾，是爲了在一個重要峯會之前提起獲知德國的立場，或是瞭解德國與伊朗和俄羅斯等國間的關係。劉易斯現在是美國戰略與國際研究中心(Center for Strategic and International Studies)技術與公共政策項目負責人。

'The Germans are basically running Europe now,' he said. 'What are the Germans thinking about the European crisis? Are the Germans going to stop bailing out the Greeks?'

他說，目前基本上是由德國人掌管着歐洲。德國人對歐洲危機有何想法？德國人是否會停止救助希臘？

The new revelations come ahead of a European Union summit on Thursday, where leaders are expected to discuss ways to protect personal data in the wake of previous disclosures about the NSA's surveillance programs. Demands for stronger protections and guarantees from the U.S. that it won't violate European privacy laws will have even more urgency following the disclosures about Ms. Merkel.

此事恰逢週四歐盟(European Union)峯會前夕。預計與會領導人在得知了美國國家安全局的監控項目後，將討論該如何保護個人信息。在默克爾遭美國監視一事曝光後，將更加迫切地需要加強個人信息的保護，讓美國保證它不會違反歐洲有關隱私權的法律。

Ms. Merkel, despite an uproar in Germany over NSA surveillance over the summer, had appeared willing to give the U.S. the benefit of the doubt. Asked in a news conference July 19 whether she ever had 'the uncomfortable feeling that the big brother from America might be listening in' while she talked on the phone, Ms. Merkel answered simply: 'No.'

儘管今年夏季德國國內對美國國家安全局的監控項目大爲不滿，但默克爾似乎願意姑且相信美國。7月19日，在一個新聞發佈會上，有記者問她是否曾感到不安，覺得美國老大哥可能在竊聽她的電話，默克爾只是回答說，“沒有”。

On Wednesday night, the tone in Berlin changed sharply.

週三晚間，柏林的態度大變。

'The government has received information that the mobile phone of the chancellor may be under surveillance by U.S. agencies,' said Ms. Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert. 'We have made an urgent inquiry to our American partners and have asked for an immediate and comprehensive explanation.'

默克爾的發言人賽貝特(Steffen Seibert)說，政府已掌握了相關情報，情報顯示首相的手機可能受到美國機構的監控。我們已向美方提出緊急質詢，要求其立即做出詳細解釋。

In her call with Mr. Obama, Ms. Merkel said she 'unequivocally deplores such practices and sees them as completely unacceptable,' according to Mr. Seibert. The spokesman said Ms. Merkel expected U.S. agencies to explain their overall surveillance practices against Germany, 'questions that the German government asked months ago.'

據賽貝特說，默克爾在與奧巴馬的通話中，強烈譴責這樣的做法，認爲這種做法完全無法接受。賽貝特說，默克爾希望美國機構就其對德國的全盤監控計劃做出解釋，德國政府數月前就已提出了這樣的要求。

Ms. Merkel is known as a frequent texter, sometimes sending and receiving missives in public.

衆所周知，默克爾經常發短信，有時甚至公開收發短信。

When the NSA scandal first broke in Germany over the summer, with reports that the U.S. was spying on Germans, opposition parties tried to use U.S. surveillance as a campaign issue against Ms. Merkel.

今年夏天美國國家安全局監控醜聞首次在德國曝光，當時有報道說美國在監視德國人，反對黨曾試圖在選戰中利用美國的監控項目打擊默克爾。

But she resisted calls to take drastic action against the U.S. -- such as shelving talks on the free-trade agreement -- and underscored the importance of international cooperation in collecting intelligence.

但她頂住了德國國內要求對美國採取激烈行動――比如擱置圍繞自由貿易協議的談判――的呼聲，強調國際合作對情報收集的重要性。

Germany's highly unusual statement and strong words came after Der Spiegel contacted the government about a related story it was working on, the publication reported on its website.

在德國發表不同尋常的聲明、措辭嚴厲地表態之前，據《明鏡》週刊在其網站上報道說，該週刊曾就正在做的一項相關報道聯繫過政府。

Der Spiegel didn't say what sources its research was based on, but the magazine has published a series of articles in recent months based on documents from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Der Spiegel said there was evidence that Ms. Merkel 'may have been a target for years for U.S. intelligence agencies.' It didn't publish documents or other evidence to back up those claims.

《明鏡》週刊沒有透露其調查是基於什麼消息來源，但該週刊近幾個月根據前美國國家安全局承包商僱員斯諾登(Edward Snowden)提供的文件發表了一系列文章。《明鏡》週刊說，有證據顯示，多年來默克爾可能一直是美國情報機構的目標。該週刊沒有公佈文件或其他證據來支持自己的說法。

The White House said Mr. Obama assured Ms. Merkel in the call that the U.S. 'is not monitoring and will not monitor' her communications. 'The United States greatly values our close cooperation with Germany on a broad range of shared security challenges,' White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

白宮說，奧巴馬在通話中向默克爾保證，美國現在沒有監控，以後也不會監控她的通訊。白宮發言人卡尼(Jay Carney)說，美國極其重視美德在各種共同的安全挑戰問題上的密切合作。

While not usually discussed in public, it is well known within intelligence circles that allies spy on each other.

儘管通常不會公開討論這個問題，但情報圈裏都知道盟友之間會互相監控。

Washington's assurances on Wednesday didn't appear to be entirely convincing.

華盛頓週三向德國做出的保證似乎並不能夠令人完全信服。

'Between close friends and partners, as Germany and the United States have been for decades, such surveillance of the communications of heads of government cannot exist,' Mr. Seibert said. 'This would be a grave breach of trust.'

賽貝特說，在親密朋友和夥伴之間，正如德國和美國幾十年來的關係一樣，不能存在這類監控政府首腦通訊的做法。這將嚴重違背對方的信任。