By: Chris Cote-McLaughlin

Chances are, if you have an Internet connection or cable access, you are aware of the appalling scandal that has come to light concerning the U.S.’ National Security Agency (NSA). Also, chances are, if you have an Internet connection or smartphone, that same office has read your texts, listened to your phone calls, and read your emails.

In an open letter to the public, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden states, “Today, no telephone call in America goes through without record from the NSA. Today, no Internet transaction enters or leaves America without passing through the NSA’s hands.”  However, as it has recently come to light, not only U.S. citizens are subject to surveillance from the federal government-run NSA’s crooked supervision.

Over 35 world leaders, those who hold positions of importance and influence in powerful nations worldwide, have had their personal phones tapped by the NSA for years. A notable name on that list would be that of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel’s communicative activities could perhaps be of interest to the NSA due to positions she holds that could perhaps affect the integrity of the American federal government. She holds a key position that could vastly affect the global economy, and Iranian and Afghani relations with the United States.

While it is unclear if President Obama was aware of the wiretapping of Merkel’s communications, allegations are currently flying in both directions, pointing fingers of guilt towards him, while others proclaim his innocence.  Sources such as the NSA and the Senate Intelligence Committee have made statements that it would “not be practical” to inform Obama of every single wiretapping operation. Other sources such as the Huffington Post cite German media sources, stating that the president not only knew of the tapping of Merkel’s phone, he approved and extended the tapping period.

While it may currently be unclear what the president’s exact involvement was, he has recently contacted Chancellor Merkel, “assuring the chancellor that the United States is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of the Chancellor,” said White House Spokesman Jay Carney.

It is impossible to deny the illegality of the NSA’s actions, which also include targeting the communications of other U.S. Allies, such as France, Mexico and Brazil. While the United States offices involved in the scandal, such as the office of the director of national intelligence, have denied some claims, they have not denied all. They have tiptoed around denying collecting millions of recorded calls in and out of France, but have not denied collecting millions of text messages and metadata (massive amounts of data encrypted with identifiable user ID.)

While the NSA scrambles in the wake of all its violations, we may have just begun to hear of its international and domestic privacy violations. Since the initial information leak by Snowden, more NSA employees have begun to blow their own whistles. In the coming months, we may find the U.S. government and the NSA in quite a perplexing and treacherous quandary. In the meantime, Americans everywhere ought to read up on George Orwell’s 1984 in preparation for what may lay ahead.