Chairman of Joint Chiefs Blames Snowden for Strained U.S. Ties Overseas

Ask Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey why U.S. ties with nations abroad are strained, and he’s got the culprit: Edward Snowden. Apparently, the NSA leaker’s secret document disclosures about U.S. surveillance programs have had a negative effect on “the importance of trust.” Now, to be clear, it’s Snowden’s actions that have strained those ties, not the surveillance programs monitoring European diplomatic offices themselves. Which means, of course, that we totally can keep spying on Europe. They won’t mind. Just don’t tell them — which, to be fair, worked pretty well at home. [HuffPo]