Well, it was well known in government circles (and beyond) that the US are spying on everyone including their allies, so the fact that they paid a mole in the G

Well, it was well known in government circles (and beyond) that the US are spying on everyone including their allies, so the fact that they paid a mole in the German secret service shouldn't have been too surprising to the German government. The fact that he got uncovered and that the whole affair got public is a serious problem for Angela Merkel though: The German public already perceived her as way too soft towards the US during the latest NSA affair, so if she doesn't act this time she will lose a lot of goodwill in the German population. Judging from her recent media appearances, it seems actually likely that she will act in one way or another. A probable "retaliation" could be to cancel the free trade treaty that's currently being negotiated between the US and the EU (and which, like most EU projects, depends heavily on Germany's consent), which would be a huge economic loss for the US (and to th EU as well of course). So, although this move was "business as usual" for the US, it could have pretty serious consequences for them. Makes me really wonder if the return-on-investment of the current US surveillance strategy is actually positive, or if it will result in a huge loss of economic power and trust for them.