NSA spied on UN Security Council

[Nordmadr]

Raw Story Headline:

Rice authorized National Security Agency to
spy on UN Security Council in run-up to war, former NSA officials say... Developing...


Whoah, this is getting unbelievable in scope. Is this America? I think not anymore.

Story up:
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/After_domestic_spying_reports_U.S._spying_1227.html

President Bush and other top officials in his administration used the National Security Agency to secretly wiretap the home and office telephones and monitored private email accounts of members of the United Nations Security Council in early 2003 to determine how foreign delegates would vote on a U.N. resolution that paved the war for the U.S.-led war in Iraq, NSA documents show.

Two former NSA officials familiar with the agency's campaign to spy on U.N. members say then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice authorized the plan at the request of President Bush, who wanted to know how delegates were going to vote. Rice did not immediately return a call for comment.

The former officials said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld also participated in discussions about the plan, which involved "stepping up" efforts to eavesdrop on diplomats.






Olafr

[Brundle_Fly]

1. these bozos

are in for a whooping, no following through on impeachment proceedings is the last nail in the coffin of elections 2006.

people are fed up, and to not follow the rule of law now, well its treason, again.

[TomInTib]

2. Members of the Security Council suspected as much but were..

dismissed out of hand by the * admin.

[Nordmadr]

3. Three posts on the board for this now...but mine was first. :) N/T

[Jayhawk Lib]

4. What a bunch of SCUMBAGS!!!!

nt

[cal04]

5. what happened when this came out in 2003 or 04, I

remember this coming out but not why it was forgotten.

The conflict in Iraq has raised a number of questions concerning the integrity and professionalism of the intelligence services of the United Kingdom and the United States. Another embarrassing episode from the days preceding the war on Iraq has now flared up, following the decision of the British Crown Prosecution Service to drop charges against Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) whistleblower Katharine Gun. In March 2003, she revealed in a leaked email that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) had decided to eavesdrop on UN Security Council diplomats belonging to the group of “swing nations” that were undecided on the question of war against Iraq. The NSA requested the help of its British counterparts at GCHQ to collect information on these diplomats.

Espionage involving electronic surveillance or “bugging” of conversations is not a new occurrence in world politics. During the Second World War, Stalin had Roosevelt bugged, so that he could properly prepare against any arguments that the western allies would present regarding the future division of Europe. During the cold war, embassies in Moscow had networks of listening devices hidden in the walls. Western intelligence even dug tunnels under the Berlin wall in order to tap into Soviet military communications networks. As any card-player would testify, you can never underestimate the value of knowing your opponent’s hand. But the same player would also say that there are rules for the game, and that cheating can be a hazardous affair.

UN calls off bug inquiry
THE United Nations has called off an internal inquiry into the discovery of a secret listening device at its European HQ in Geneva without finding out who planted the bug or when. Although the device was only found this autumn, the inquiry had already finished and would not be reopened, a UN official said yesterday. The listening device was found during renovation work in a room known as the Salon Francais - which adjoins a main conference hall - where it could have been used to eavesdrop on private conversations.
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1086&id=1445552004

Not only were Britain and the United States prepared to eavesdrop on the security council members, as Ms Gun’s e-mail had indicated, but they were bugging the private conversations of Mr Annan."These things are done. And in the case of Kofi’s office it has been done for some time... I have seen transcripts of Kofi Annan’s conversations. In fact, I have had conversations with Kofi in the run-up to war thinking, ‘Oh dear, there will be a transcript of this and people will see what he and I have been saying’. " No10’s response was forged in a meeting with Mr Blair, Jonathan Powell, his chief of staff, and Mr Hill. There would be no comment on intelligence matters - a precedent set by successive governments.

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1086&id=228262004
http://www.worldpress.org/Americas/1831.cfm

[McCamy Taylor]

6. This could have been done legally, but it still sucks.

:nuke: