Europe should be grateful for NSA spying, Rogers says

While outrage in Europe grows over reports of the NSA spying on its citizens and public figures, some in Congress have struck a less conciliatory tone, with a key GOP congressman saying Sunday that foreign publics should be grateful - not angry - because America's spying keeps them safe.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., appears on the March 24th edition of "Face the Nation."

/ CBS News

"If the French citizens knew exactly what that was about, they would be applauding and popping champagne corks. It's a good thing. It keeps the French safe. It keeps the U.S. safe. It keeps our European allies safe," Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN. "This whole notion that we're going to go after each other on what is really legitimate protection of nation-state interest, I think is disingenuous."

Meanwhile, the German interior minister raised the possibility that the National Security Agency may have broken German law by wire-tapping Germans' cell phones, including that of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, continuing a feud over spying practices that has driven a wedge between the U.S. and some of its closest international allies.

Interior Minister Hans Peter Friedrich told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag on Sunday he wants "complete information" about the accusations of phone-tapping, according to the Associated Press.

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"If the Americans intercepted cellphones in Germany, they broke German law on German soil," he added.

After allegations surfaced this week that the NSA had monitored the cell phones of Merkel and other world leaders, White House spokesman Jay Carney vowed that the U.S. "is not monitoring and will not monitor" the German leader's phone, but he did not say whether the U.S. had monitored her phone in the past.

Additional reports that revealed mass surveillance of foreign publics prompted outrage from other allies, including France and Italy.

The administration has promised to consult with its allies on overseas surveillance practices, and German intelligence officials plan to travel to Washington for talks next week.