US Secretary of State John Kerry�™s statement that President Barack Obama was not aware of government spying on world leaders is �œstupid and ridiculous,” American journalist Rob Kall says.
Kerry�™s statement is �œludicrous”, �œstupid” and �œlaughable” because �œthe buck stops with Obama,” Kall of Host Bottom UP Radio Show WNJC told Press TV on Tuesday.
�œObama is the man in charge,”
�œThe decision to spy on the leader of an ally, of a country that is an ally of ours, is a big enough decision that Obama should know that,” Kall noted.
�œIf he didn�™t, if was a failure of leadership,” he added.
The White House has previously said Obama was oblivious to the fact that the National Security Agency was targeting world leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and that he ordered the spy agency to end its espionage program after learning about it.
In a recent interview with the BBC, Kerry said Obama did not personally order all the various types of snooping that have been revealed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
According to German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, NSA Director General Keith Alexander briefed Obama in 2010 about eavesdropping on Merkel�™s phone but let the NSA continue the surveillance.
Even, James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, has acknowledged that Obama and other senior White House officials were well aware of NSA spying activities targeting leaders of friendly foreign nations.
Obama has reportedly had to apologize to Merkel and the presidents of France and Brazil who were also targets of NSA surveillance.
AT/HJ
Source: Press TV