US Dirty Tricks To Win UN Vote

“Just when you thought world opinion of the US couldn’t get any worse:


UN launches inquiry into American spying

Martin Bright, Ed Vulliamy in New York and Peter Beaumont
Sunday March 9, 2003
The Observer

The United Nations has begun a top-level investigation into the bugging of its delegations by the United States, first revealed in The Observer last week.

Sources in the office of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan confirmed last night that the spying operation had already been discussed at the UN's counter-terrorism committee and will be further investigated.

The news comes as British police confirmed the arrest of a 28-year-old woman working at the top secret Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) on suspicion of contravening the Official Secrets Act.

Last week The Observer published details of a memo sent by Frank Koza, Defence Chief of Staff (Regional Targets) at the US National Security Agency, which monitors international communications. The memo ordered an intelligence 'surge' directed against Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Bulgaria and Guinea with 'extra focus on Pakistan UN matters'. The 'dirty tricks' operation was designed to win votes in favour of intervention in Iraq.

The Observer reported that the memo was sent to a friendly foreign intelligence agency asking for help in the operation. It has been known for some time that elements within the British security services were unhappy with the Government's use of intelligence information.

The leak was described as 'more timely and potentially more important than the Pentagon Papers' by Daniel Ellsberg, the most celebrated whistleblower in recent American history.

In 1971, Ellsberg was responsible for leaking a secret history of US involvement in Vietnam, which became known as 'the Pentagon Papers', while working as a Defence Department analyst. The papers fed the American public's hostility to the war.

The revelations of the spying operation have caused deep embarrassment to the Bush administration at a key point in the sensitive diplomatic negotiations to gain support for a second UN resolution authorising intervention in Iraq.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld were both challenged about the operation last week, but said they could not comment on security matters.

The operation is thought to have been authorised by US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, but American intelligence experts told The Observer that a decision of this kind would also have involved Donald Rumsfeld, CIA director George Tenet and NSA chief General Michael Hayden.

President Bush himself would have been informed at one of the daily intelligence briefings held every morning at the White House.

Attention has now turned to the foreign intelligence agency responsible for the leak. It is now believed the memo was sent out via Echelon, an international surveillance network set up by the NSA with the cooperation of GCHQ in Britain and similar organisations in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Wayne Madsen, of the Electronic Privacy Information Centre and himself a former NSA intelligence officer, said the leak demonstrated that there was deep unhappiness in the intelligence world over attempts to link Iraq to the terrorist network al-Qaeda.
'My feeling is that this was an authorised leak. I've been hearing for months of people in the US and British intelligence community who are deeply concerned about their governments "cooking" intelligence to link Iraq to al-Qaeda.'

The Observer story caused a political furore in Chile, where President Ricardo Lagos demanded an immediate explanation of the spying operation. The Chilean public is extremely sensitive to reports of US 'dirty tricks' after decades of American secret service involvement in the country's internal affairs. In 1973 the CIA supported a coup that toppled the democratically-elected socialist government of Salvador Allende and installed the dictator General Augusto Pinochet.

President Lagos spoke on the telephone with Prime Minister Tony Blair about the memo last Sunday, immediately after the publication of the story, and twice again on Wednesday. Chile's Foreign Minister Soledad Alvear also raised the matter with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

Chile's ambassador to Britain Mariano Fernández told The Observer: 'We cannot understand why the United States was spying on Chile. We were very surprised. Relations have been good with America since the time of George Bush Snr.' He said that the position of the Chilean mission to the UN was published in regular diplomatic bulletins, which were public documents openly available.

While the bugging of foreign diplomats at the UN is permissible under the US Foreign Intelligence Services Act, it is a breach of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, according to one of America's leading experts on international law, Professor John Quigley of Ohio University.

He says the convention stipulates that: 'The receiving state shall permit and protect free communication on the part of the mission for all official purposes... The official correspondence of the mission shall be inviolable.'”

“For some odd reason, there hasn't been a peep about this from major US media outlets - it is the lead story around the world.”

“lefties, righties, let the fireworks begin

<>”

“go away”

“According to the Observer article that broke the storythe Observer article that broke the story there was a debate within the administration about pursuing this strategy because of the embarrassment discovery would cause.

Oh well...”

“This administration IS an embarrassment!”

“The near silence in the US press is very interesting. I am amazed at how all the mainstream press have shifted their lines to be in accord with the push for war.”

“Some day the bills will come due.”

“I realize this is pretty radical thinking but maybe the US press has not reported it because they haven't found any verification that it is true. Given the US press's hatred for GWB, I can think of no reason they would let something like this pass if they could verify it. On the other hand, given their hatred for GWB I can't see them passing up an opportunity like this, even without verification.”

“salon reported that NBC, CNN, and Fox News Channel had all scheduled interviews with Martin Bright, the Observer's home affairs editor but called and cancelled.

Everybody look what's goin' down.”

“I'm not kidding about this being major world news. A Google news search for dirty tricks gets you stories from around the world and very few are US sources.

The Observer has posted the text of the original memo.”

“The arrest of the UK woman seems to speak to it's authenticity vc2.”

“VC2: I think your perceptions of the American press are way off.

Look at the spin the press put on the recount of Florida ballots done by the Wall Street Week consortium for one of many big examples of pro-Bush spin by the press.”

“damn dirty liberal google”

“Additional thoughts:

1) The fact that there is an outcry about alleged US dirt tricks is newsworthy in itself.

2) Look at the silence of US news media on evidence that evidence cited by the US of Saddams attempts to get nukes was faked.”

“press = pro Bush

OK, if you say so. I'm convinced. I've been so wrong for so long. I feel so ashamed. How come you never told me that before?”

“I wouldn't say the fact that countries spy on each other is breaking news”

“I have sorry news for everybody. It's no secret any longer that we've bugged friends for years. James Bamford spilled the beans in his two books on the NSA.

And it should also come as no surprise that nearly all the governments professing indignation over this revelation do, in fact, bug us. It's the old Spy Versus Spy cartoon from Mad Magazine in real life.”

“I was going to say the same thing, Ped. The days of the 'left wing pinko press' are pretty much over. You have some hangers-on, but for the most part, it has taken a swing to the right. that's why there is virtually no trashing of Bush in the press. Lord knows, there's opportunities for them to do so...”

“Yup. Agreed. Those dopes were calling for war months ago,writing headlines and giving soundbites lie, "When we go to war..."

Nothing like a good war to boost ratings through the roof!”

“i don't understand how anyone can be "pro war." we should do everything to avoid it, not embrace it. saddam must disarm, but we need to let the inspectors decide the time frame needed, not bush, chirac, putin, or blair.

bush better be very careful, this can destroy his presidency. his motivation best not be paranoia or revenge.”

“What, we spied on people! That's it, I'm moving to France!”

“AP World - General News

U.N. inspectors say U.S. relied on forged reports of Iraq nuclear efforts
Sat Mar 8, 4:47 AM ET

By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer

UNITED NATIONS - U.N. weapons inspectors cast doubts on U.S. assertions about Iraq (news - web sites)'s weapons programs, saying Baghdad is cooperating with inspections and some documents presented as evidence were forged.



Latest news:
Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the U.N. Security Council on Friday that experts had dismissed as counterfeit documents that allegedly showed Iraqi officials shopping for uranium in Africa two years ago.

ElBaradei, who made his strongest statement yet in support of Iraqi cooperation, also rejected a Bush administration claim that Iraq had tried to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes to use in centrifuges for uranium enrichment.

"There is no indication of resumed nuclear activities," he said.

Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix welcomed Iraq's "proactive" cooperation with his teams but didn't declare Iraq free of weapons of mass destruction.

Blix noted that Iraq is now providing inspectors with proactive cooperation, something he had asked for repeatedly through the winter.

However, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) said the United States was still convinced Iraq was hiding banned weapons.

"I think I have better information than the inspectors," Powell said in an interview on the ABC television network. "I think I have more assets available to me than the inspectors do."

CIA (news - web sites) Director George Tenet has said all relevant information had been passed along already.


Blix said that even with continued cooperation from Iraq, it will take some time to ensure Iraq has carried out key remaining disarmament tasks which he intends to present to the Security Council later this month.


"It will not take years, nor weeks, but months," he said, stressing that even after this is completed, Iraq should be subject to ongoing inspections and monitoring of its facilities.


Iraq's destruction of its Al Samoud 2 missiles constitutes a "substantial measure of disarmament," Blix said.


"We are not watching the destruction of toothpicks. Lethal weapons are being destroyed," he said.


The chief inspector, whose teams are responsible for the hunt for biological, chemical and missile programs, said Iraq had recently provided additional documentation on anthrax and the VX nerve agent.


"Many have been found to restate what Iraq has already declared," he said.


Blix didn't declare Iraq free of weapons of mass destruction.


In a veiled jab at the United States, he said inspectors had been unable to verify some claims about hidden Iraqi weapons and asked again for more information about suspect sites.


ElBaradei told the council that the IAEA found no evidence to support reports that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger.

"Based on thorough analysis, the IAEA has concluded, with the concurrence of outside experts, that documents which formed the basis for the reports of recent uranium transactions between Iraq and Niger are in fact not authentic," he said. "We have therefore concluded that these specific allegations are unfounded."

"In the past three weeks, possibly as a result of ever-increasing pressure by the international community, Iraq has been forthcoming in its cooperation," ElBaradei said. "I do hope that Iraq will continue to expand the scope and accelerate the pace of its cooperation."

He reported again that in the area of nuclear weapons, inspections were moving forward.

"After three months of intrusive inspections, we have to date found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq."

see: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030308/ap_wo_en_ge/un_gen_un_iraq_inspectors_3”

“lol...we have been spying for years. It wouldn't suprise me if this is true. I think every country in the world does to some point. It only makes the news when some gets caught.

To me it's kinda like Clinton getting busted screwing around. Lots of Presidents did it. The only difference is that he got caught and it wasn't a beautiful woman. Personally, Im a little disappointed in Clinton. I mean he's was the most powerful man in the free world. You think he could have done better. Not that I advocate adultry or anything, but come on. What was he thinking?

Sorry, a little off the topic, but needed to be said.”

“Amen brother!”

“USA is evil.”

“LOL Dare... I thought I was the only one who thought the least Bill coulda done was have a real affair with a real woman. I know JFK set the bar pretty high, but picking a messed up young woman who was at the bottom of the organization he was the head of is really low.

When the whole thing came to a head (to coin a phrase), something Nietzsche said came to mind: "It is not your sin, but the mediocrity of your sin that cries to heaven." He smokes dope, but he doesn't inhale. He has an affair, but not "real" sex. He lies, but he twists the words in his own mind enought that its not really lying. He probably had his fingers crossed when he gave that honest stare into the camera and said: "I did not have sex with that woman." (or whatever the words he used were).”

“Look out war here we come!

8|”