DHAKA: A senior US intelligence official has stated that reports the US collected data on French citizens` telephone calls are "false".

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper challenged recent reports in Le Monde newspaper detailing US surveillance programmes in France.

The newspaper reported US spies had hacked foreign networks, introducing spyware into millions of computers.

Also, the newspaper reported the US tapped millions of French phones.

"Recent articles published in the French newspaper Le Monde contain inaccurate and misleading information regarding US foreign intelligence activities," Mr Clapper said in a statement released on Tuesday.

"The allegation that the National Security Agency collected more than 70 million `recordings of French citizens` telephone data` is false."

Mr Clapper said he would not discuss details of surveillance activities, but he did acknowledge "the United States gathers intelligence of the type gathered by all nations".
`Spy implants

And he did not specifically contest allegations the National Security Agency (NSA) had spied on French diplomats in Washington and at the UN.

The statement from the US spy chief came after Le Monde reported details of Genie, an alleged NSA surveillance programme in which spyware implants were introduced remotely to overseas computers, including foreign embassies.

The details in the article are based on internal NSA memos from ex-NSA technical contractor Edward Snowden, through Glen Greenwald, the outgoing Guardian journalist who is feeding the material from Brazil, says the BBC`s Christian Fraser in Paris.

It comes on the day US Secretary of State John Kerry was in London meeting foreign counterparts to discuss Syria.

The report claims bugs were introduced to the French Embassy in Washington (under a code name "Wabash") and to the computers of the French delegation at the UN, codenamed "Blackfoot".

The article suggests that in 2011, the US allocated $652m (£402m) in funding for the programme, which was spent on "spy implants". Tens of millions of computers were reported to have been hacked that year.

A document dated August 2010 suggests intelligence stolen from foreign embassy computers ensured the US knew ahead of time the positions of other Security Council members, before a UN vote for a resolution imposing new sanctions on Iran.

The US was worried the French were drifting to the Brazilian side - who were opposed to implementing sanctions - when in truth they were always aligned to the US position, says our correspondent Christian Fraser.

The intelligence agency quotes Susan Rice, then-US ambassador to the UN, who praises the work done by the NSA: "It helped me know... the truth, and reveal other [countries`] positions on sanctions, allowing us to keep one step ahead in the negotiations."

On Monday, Le Monde alleged that the NSA spied on 70.3 million phone calls in France between 10 December 2012 and 8 January 2013.

At a breakfast meeting with the US secretary of state on Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius demanded a full explanation.
`Unacceptable`

Referring to a telephone call between the French and US presidents, Mr Fabius told reporters: "I said again to John Kerry what Francois Hollande told Barack Obama, that this kind of spying conducted on a large scale by the Americans on its allies is something that is unacceptable."

Asked if France was considering reprisals against the US, government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem replied: "It is up to Foreign Minister Fabius to decide what line we take but I don`t think there is any need for an escalation.

"We have to have a respectful relationship between partners, between allies. Our confidence in that has been hit but it is after all a very close, individual relationship that we have."

Both French officials made their comments before the latest revelations appeared in Le Monde.

Mr Snowden, a former NSA worker, went public with revelations about US spying operations in June.

The information he leaked led to claims of systematic spying by the NSA and CIA on a global scale.

Targets included rivals like China and Russia, as well as allies like the EU and Brazil.

The NSA was also forced to admit it had captured email and phone data from millions of Americans.

Mr Snowden is currently in Russia, where he was granted a year-long visa after making an asylum application.

The US wants him extradited to face trial on criminal charges.

Source: BBC
BDST:  0847 HRS, OCT 23, 2013
RS/BSK