We read their press releases, too

The Europeans are again accusing the US of spying. It seems that during a routine inspection of the phone system at EU headquarters, they found phone taps on the lines for the French and Germans among others.

The Belgian police, ever diligent in their investigations, immediately fingered the US as the culprit.

The EU Council of Ministers said they would carry out their own investigation.

Why are these guys surprised that someone, maybe the US - maybe not, is collecting information? Information is advantage in today's world. If it is the US, I'm glad. The fact that these taps were found tells me that this administration is actively seeking out information. How many unfound taps are there out there that are providing us with the intelligence we need to be able to plan a reaction to various situations? Maybe our successful rope-a-dope wasn't accidental. Maybe we realized what Chirac was planning and we let him hang himself.

Intelligence is the best weapon we have in today's world. If we're spying on the Europeans- good. The French and Germans in particular have shown themselves to be fickle allies at best. We need to know where they really stand and sometimes spying is the only way to ascertain that.