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Former NSA, CIA director admits 'US does conduct espionage'

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ANI Washington

Former CIA and National Security Agency Director, Michael Hayden, has said the United States does conduct espionage on citizens and countries.

Hayden also said that the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protecting the privacy of American citizens is not an international treaty.

The revelation by Hayden comes during an interview on 'Face the Nation', after a German magazine cited secret intelligence documents and charge U.S. spies of bugging European Union offices.

According to CBS News, Hayden said in a global telecommunications infrastructure, geography does not mean what it used to mean, adding that the Internet lacks geography.

Earlier on Sunday, Germany's Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger accused the United States of using 'Cold War' methods against its allies.

 

Her statement came in response to a report in German magazine Der Spiegel, which, citing some of the top-secret documents leaked by former government contractor Edward Snowden, claimed the NSA was spying on EU offices in Washington, New York and Brussels, the report said.

Hayden said President Barack Obama should more aggressively pursue the extradition of Snowden, who's currently believed to be holed up in a Moscow airport.

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First Published: Jul 01 2013 | 1:20 PM IST

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