Report: U.S. Snooped On U.N. Members
The National Security Agency launched a "surge" in surveillance of the U.S.-based missions of Security Council members whose votes could be critical to a resolution backing war against Iraq, according to a secret memo obtained by a newspaper.
The January 31 memo — which the Observer newspaper of London claims to have verified as authentic — says the eavesdropping effort is concerned with "the whole gamut of information that could give U.S. policymakers an edge in obtaining results favorable to U.S. goals or to head off surprises."
The memo was drafted by Frank Koza, identified as chief of staff of an agency division and addressed to "All," according to text of the memo reproduced on the newspaper's web site.
"As you've likely heard by now, the Agency is mounting a surge particularly directed at the UN Security Council (UNSC) members (minus US and GBR of course) for insights as to how to membership is reacting to the on-going debate RE: Iraq, plans to vote on any related resolutions, what related policies/ negotiating positions they may be considering, alliances/ dependencies, etc," the memo reads. "GBR" refers to Great Britain, the most supportive U.S. ally in the push toward a possible military confrontation.
The memo then lists the countries this target list would include: Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Guinea, Mexico and Pakistan. All are considered undecided in the run-up to a crucial vote on the U.S.-backed resolution authorizing force, which could occur in a week's time.
The intelligence-gathering project was to "peak" around the time of Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation to the Security Council on Feb. 5, where he presented a detailed case — including intercepted telephone calls and satellite photos — to back the Bush administration's claims that Iraq possessed and was concealing dangerous weapons.
The memo also called for NSA staff to exploit surveillance of U.N. members who are not on the council, as well as "analysts who might have similar, more in-direct access to valuable information from accesses in your product lines."
The NSA press office did not return a call seeking comment on the story. The Observer was unable to reach Koza.
The National Security Agency is the eyes and ears of the U.S. intelligence community, as well as the agency charged with encoding and protecting secret information.
According to the agency, part of its mission is to "intercept and analyze foreign adversaries' communications signals" and then distribute them to its customers — the White House, Central Intelligence Agency, State Department, Pentagon and others.
As with all elements of the U.S. intelligence community, the NSA's budget and workforce are classified. It is based at Fort Meade in Maryland.
By Jarrett Murphy