"In Europe this week, President Obama has been making similar claims when asked about NSA spying, repeatedly assuring people that NSA surveillance is overwhelmingly devoted to stopping terrorism threats."
They can't say anything consequential without a qualifier. "Overwhelmingly devoted" means that surveillance is also deployed for other reasons.
From Der Spiegel: "But the UN and the EU are also listed as espionage targets, with issues of economic stability as the primary concern. The focus, though, is also on trade policy and foreign policy (each rated "3") as well as energy security, food products and technological innovations (each rated "5")." http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/secret-nsa-documen...
They can't say anything consequential without a qualifier. "Overwhelmingly devoted" means that surveillance is also deployed for other reasons.
From Der Spiegel: "But the UN and the EU are also listed as espionage targets, with issues of economic stability as the primary concern. The focus, though, is also on trade policy and foreign policy (each rated "3") as well as energy security, food products and technological innovations (each rated "5")." http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/secret-nsa-documen...