The US is finding itself increasingly isolated among its own allies with yet another damaging revelation from the Snowden Documents:  The US National Security Agency (NSA) monitored the phone calls of 35 world leaders after getting hold of their phone numbers.

The confidential memo, dated 2006, says that the NSA encourages politicians and diplomats to share their contact lists and rolodexes so the spy agency can add the phone numbers to its surveillance system. The document notes that one unnamed US official handed over 200 numbers, including those of the 35 world leaders, which were immediately targeted for eavesdropping.  The leaders’ names are not mentioned.

Earlier this week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel placed an angry call to the White House about an international German security investigation that suggested the US was tapping her cell phone.  A White House spokesman responded in a news conference, saying the US is not and will not tap her phone.  He did not say if the US had listened-in to her phone in the past.

At a European Union leaders’ gathering in Brussels, Merkel’s stern remark revealed what many think the US can do with its reassurances.

“We need trust among allies and partners,” Merkel told reporters in Brussels, “Such trust now has to be built anew. This is what we have to think about.  The United States of America and Europe face common challenges. We are allies, but such an alliance can only be built on trust. That's why I repeat again: spying among friends, that cannot be.”

International diplomats say the Obama administration is underestimating the seriously of anger over the spying scandal.

“How would the US respond if it discovered a friendly country was covertly listening to the calls of thousands of US citizens – including Obama?” said one diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.  The diplomat says the Americans are suffering from myopia.

“The surveillance debate in the US is focused on the constitution – and whether the privacy of US citizens is compromised.  There seems to be minimal acknowledgement about the concern other countries have about the rights of their citizens.”