OVERKILL, I THINK – AT 9:52 A.M. ET:  Germany's Angela Merkel is a good friend of the U.S., but was, at least publicly, angered by recent revelations of our National Security Agency spying in her country.  Yeah, as if the Germans don't do it here.  But now she's taking actions that are a bit over-the-top, and a slap at us.  From Reuters:

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday she would talk to French President Francois Hollande about building up a European communication network to avoid emails and other data passing through the United States.

Merkel, speaking on Saturday ahead of a visit to France, has been pushing for greater data protection in Europe following reports last year about mass surveillance in Germany and elsewhere by the U.S. National Security Agency. Even Merkel's cell phone was reportedly monitored by American spies.

Merkel said in her weekly podcast she disapproved of companies like Google and Facebook basing their operations in countries with low safeguards on data protection while being active in countries like Germany with high data protection.

"We'll talk with France about how we can maintain a high level of data protection," Merkel said before her visit to Paris on Wednesday.

"Above all, we'll talk about European providers that offer security for our citizens, so that one shouldn't have to send emails and other information across the Atlantic. Rather one could build up a communication network inside Europe."

COMMENT:  I doubt if Hollande, who was just feted in Washington, will go along with something that is so clearly aimed at the U.S.  Obama could have soothed this situation, but he's much more concerned about the feelings of Moscow and Tehran than he is about the feelings of Berlin, Paris, London, or Tokyo.

February 15, 2014