*Ø* Blogmanac | Blix, Butler 'bugged' too
"The British or US intelligence services monitored former United Nations chief weapons inspector Hans Blix's mobile phone whenever he was in Iraq, sources have told the ABC.
"A key Australian official at the heart of attempts to locate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, Richard Butler, has also told the ABC that he was bugged while carrying out delicate international negotiations with the Iraqis ...
"Mr Butler says that if Mr Annan was bugged, it would be illegal.
"'There is a headquarters agreement with the United Nations that says that those places, those premises, those persons will be inviolable,' he said.
"'It's not true to say that this activity if it occurred was within the law.'"
Source and full text
UN chief wants spying to stop
By John Shovelan in Washington
"United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan says any attempts to spy on his office would be illegal and should cease immediately ...
"UN spokesman Fred Eckhard says he would be 'disappointed' if the claims are true. 'Such activities would undermine the integrity and confidential nature of diplomatic exchanges,' he said.
"Mr Eckhard says the espionage could have undermined the secretary-general's efforts to head off the war in Iraq."
Source and full text
Britain's spying shame
Fury at claims Britain spied on UN
By Andrew Grice, The Independent
"Britain faced deep international embarrassment last night after the former cabinet minister Clare Short claimed that its security services spied on Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary general, in the run-up to last year's Iraq war.
"A furious Tony Blair condemned Ms Short as 'deeply irresponsible' and accused her of threatening Britain's national security by attacking the security services. Last night she returned to the attack, claiming that the Prime Minister had stopped short of denying her claims because he knew that they were true.
"There was speculation at Westminster last night that the bugging was carried out by American security services but that Mr Blair did not wish to say so for fear of upsetting the Bush administration.
"In New York, British officials made frantic efforts to reassure Mr Annan and his team about the conduct of the security services ...
"There were claims yesterday that Lord Goldsmith QC, the Attorney General, had changed his stance about the legality of war weeks before the conflict."
Full text at the Independent
"The British or US intelligence services monitored former United Nations chief weapons inspector Hans Blix's mobile phone whenever he was in Iraq, sources have told the ABC.
"A key Australian official at the heart of attempts to locate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, Richard Butler, has also told the ABC that he was bugged while carrying out delicate international negotiations with the Iraqis ...
"Mr Butler says that if Mr Annan was bugged, it would be illegal.
"'There is a headquarters agreement with the United Nations that says that those places, those premises, those persons will be inviolable,' he said.
"'It's not true to say that this activity if it occurred was within the law.'"
Source and full text
UN chief wants spying to stop
By John Shovelan in Washington
"United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan says any attempts to spy on his office would be illegal and should cease immediately ...
"UN spokesman Fred Eckhard says he would be 'disappointed' if the claims are true. 'Such activities would undermine the integrity and confidential nature of diplomatic exchanges,' he said.
"Mr Eckhard says the espionage could have undermined the secretary-general's efforts to head off the war in Iraq."
Source and full text
Britain's spying shame
Fury at claims Britain spied on UN
By Andrew Grice, The Independent
"Britain faced deep international embarrassment last night after the former cabinet minister Clare Short claimed that its security services spied on Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary general, in the run-up to last year's Iraq war.
"A furious Tony Blair condemned Ms Short as 'deeply irresponsible' and accused her of threatening Britain's national security by attacking the security services. Last night she returned to the attack, claiming that the Prime Minister had stopped short of denying her claims because he knew that they were true.
"There was speculation at Westminster last night that the bugging was carried out by American security services but that Mr Blair did not wish to say so for fear of upsetting the Bush administration.
"In New York, British officials made frantic efforts to reassure Mr Annan and his team about the conduct of the security services ...
"There were claims yesterday that Lord Goldsmith QC, the Attorney General, had changed his stance about the legality of war weeks before the conflict."
Full text at the Independent
Nora posted item above at 12:55 AM | Permalink
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home