Officials alert foreign services that Snowden has documents on their cooperation with U.S.
U.S. officials are alerting some foreign intelligence services that documents detailing their secret cooperation with the United States have been obtained by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, according to government officials. ● Snowden, U.S. officials said, took tens of thousands of documents, some of which contain sensitive material about collection programs against adversaries such as Iran, Russia and China. Some refer to operations that in some cases involve countries not publicly allied with the United States. The process of informing officials in capital after capital about the risk of disclosure is delicate. In some cases, one part of the cooperating government may know about the collaboration while others — such as the foreign ministry — may not, the officials said. The documents, if disclosed, could compromise operations, officials said. The notifications come as the Obama administration is scrambling to placate allies after allegations that the NSA has spied on foreign leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
NYmag.com: U.S. Warns Foreign Officials That Snowden Knows About Their Secret Alliances
TIME/Swampland: Snowden May Reveal Countries That Cooperated With the U.S. on Secret Ops
Jason Ditz: US Warns NSA Collaborators: Snowden Docs Would Out You Too