It is still meaningless in the context of this discussion because an actual military confrontation between the USA and Germany is not a realistic scenario no ma

It is still meaningless in the context of this discussion because an actual military confrontation between the USA and Germany is not a realistic scenario no matter how the NSA thing washes out. They could very much say "Fuck you NSA and the horse you rode in on and your little dog as well", and all it would lead to is lengthy diplomatic posturing and economic damage to both sides (and the USA is at least as dependant on Germany economywise as the other way round).