NSA Spied on German Ex-Chancellor Over Iraq War Opposition

The National Security Agency tapped the mobile phone of Germany’s ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder because of his opposition to the U.S.-led war on Iraq, German media reported Tuesday.

According to a joint report by Süddeutsche Zeitung daily and regional public broadcaster NDR, the surveillance of Angela Merkel’s predecessor began in 2002, with his name being number 388 on a list of people whose communications should be surveilled.

“We had reason to presume that [Schroeder] was not contributing to the success of the alliance,” Süddeutsche quotes an unnamed source as saying.

Schroeder, a Social Democrat, held office from 1998 until 2005, with his second term beginning in 2002.

He was s staunch opponent of the Iraq war, saying at the beginning of his second election campaign that his country would not be providing troops for what he called an “adventure.”