Obama said he sees no reason to depend upon what’s collected through surveillance. Obama defends Europe surveillance

President Barack Obama on Monday defended U.S. spy agencies’ surveillance of European governments, calling the practice of monitoring allies standard in the international intelligence community.

“In European capitals, there are people who are interested in if not what I had for breakfast, then at least my talking points,” he said in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, suggesting that the U.S. allies engage in the same practices detailed in The Guardian’s Sunday story featuring new revelations from documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.


But, as the “end user” of intelligence, Obama said he sees no reason to depend upon what’s collected through surveillance, and goes directly to his fellow leaders when he wants their opinions.

( PHOTOS: Pols, pundits weigh in on NSA report)

“If I want to know what Chancellor Merkel is thinking, I’ll call Chancellor Merkel,” he said, referring to Germany’s leader, before mentioning the French president and the British prime minister. “If I want to know what President Hollande is thinking, I’ll call President Hollande. If I want to know what David Cameron is thinking, you know, I’ll call David Cameron.”

Still, he suggested, intelligence agencies are always going to be in the business of monitoring other countries. “That’s how intelligence operations work,” he said at a joint press conference with Tanzania’s president, Jakaya Kikwete. “They are seeking additional insight beyond what’s available through open sources and if that weren’t the case, then there’d be no use for an intelligence service.”

The president also confirmed that the United States and Russia are engaged in “high-level discussions about trying to a solution” to Snowden’s situation, which reportedly has left him hiding out in the international no man’s land of Sheremetyevo International Airport.

But, just as Obama finished speaking, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he will never turn Snowden over to U.S. authorities, though he added that the 30-year-old must “stop his work aimed at harming our American partners,” according to a Reuters translation.

Obama also addressed the latest round of violence in Egypt, calling on the government to do more to work with opposition groups in the spirit of democracy.

“Our commitment in Egypt has never been to any particular individual or party, our commitment has been to a process,” Obama said.

Though Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi came into office after “legitimate” democratic election, “democracy is not just about elections, it’s about how you are working with the opposition” and responding to dissent. On that note, said Obama, there’s “more work to be done” in Egypt and it’s up to Morsi’s government to reach out to the opposition and “work through these issues in a political process.”

Obama’s comments came in response to a question about whether Morsi should step down amid protests — a call Obama made during unrest in Egypt in 2011.

“When I took a position that it was time for Egypt to transition,” he said, referring to his call for then-President Hosni Mubarak to step down, “it was based on the fact that Egypt had not had democratic government for decades, if ever.”

Obama would not say that Morsi needs to step down, but repeatedly urged his government to fulfill its democratic responsibilities by working with its opposition without using violence against civilians.

The president also weighed in briefly on his meeting with former President George W. Bush, scheduled for Tuesday in Tanzania. PEPFAR, the U.S. government program to fight AIDS in Africa started by Bush, “is one of his crowning achievements,” Obama said.

Though total dollars allocated to the program have fallen, Obama said that the “suggestion that somehow we’ve reduced our commitment” is incorrect, since “we have gotten better” at fighting AIDS and have reduced costs, while quadrupling the number of people getting help. And the money saved, he said, isn’t going to an entirely different cause, it’s now targeted at fighting tuberculosis and malaria.

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