Oh, This is Too Rich

http://thirdpartydaily.blogspot.com/2010/11/exclusive-wikileaks-document-outl...

The recent Wikileaks diplomatic document dump contains a cable from shortly before Germany's 2009 general election, articulating worries among US diplomats that the German Free Democratic Party's strong support for individual data privacy and protections against unreasonable search and seizure might hinder the efforts of the American national security state.  Ironically, the author of the leaked cable scoffs at claims by FDP officials that the US government lacks effective data protection measures.

[...]

The cable frames the FDP's support for citizens' privacy rights and individual liberties as a hindrance to US security strategy, and states that, if it were to join a ruling coalition in Germany, the party would scrutinize any proposals that would require sharing or accessing of information concerning private individuals.  The cable faults the party's "limited government viewpoint" for its opposition to data-sharing measures that would infringe on the privacy rights of individuals. 

In a most ironic turn, the leaked cable scoffs at FDP Parliamentarian Gisela Piltz, who cautioned against data-sharing operations with the US government on the grounds that the US government as a whole lacks effective data protection measures even as it accumulates massive amounts of data on innocent citizens.

So, the U.S. feels that their national security is threatened by German civil liberties, but has no interest in protecting its own citizens collected data. Good to have that cleared up.