Should the U.S. Be Spying on Its Friends? Germany is angry at the United States for spying on Chancellor Angela Merkel. Brazil and Mexico were upset to learn that the National Security Agency was eavesdropping on their leaders, too. The French and Spanish both summoned the American ambassador to address spying allegations in their countries as well. Should the United States be spying on its friends? In "Amid New Storm in U.S.-Europe Relationship, a Call for Talks on Spying," Alison Smale reports on the brewing anger in Europe and elsewhere about the extent of Americans" spying abroad. While President Obama has tried to soften the blow, this week's disclosures about the extent of America's spying on its European allies have added to a series of issues that have sharply eroded confidence in the United States" leadership at a particularly difficult moment. The sharp words from Germany, France and others this week are part of a broader set of frustrations over issues like the Syrian civil war, the danger posed to the global economy by Washington's fiscal fights and the broader perception that President Obama himself - for all his promises to rebuild relations with allies after the presidency of George W. Bush - is an unreliable partner. This American administration is "misreading and miscalculating the effects" of its deeds in a Europe that is less ready than it once was to heed the United States, said Annette Heuser, executive director of the Bertelsmann Foundation, a research organization in Washington. Early on Friday, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President François Hollande of France emerged from a meeting of European leaders to call for talks with the United States on new rules for their intelligence relationship. A statement from the European leaders said a "lack of trust" could undermine trans-Atlantic intelligence cooperation. Students: Read the entire discussion on Room for Debate, then tell us ... For example, should we be tapping the German chancellor's personal cellphone? Do we have the right - even the obligation - to collect as much data around the world as possible, so we can know what other nations are planning on doing even before they tell us? Or, does this kind of spying break some kind of basic trust, that friends don't spy on friends? Does that distrust damage our national security more than any information we might gather? Would you spy on your friends if you had the capability? What limits would you set for yourself? What limits, if any, should we set for the United States spying abroad? Students 13 and older are invited to comment below. Please use only your first name. For privacy policy reasons, we will not publish student comments that include a last name.