UK spies 'bugged UN's Kofi Annan'

[Rono]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3488548.stm



Well, politics is all about trust and respect, i guess,.....

 

[nbcrusader]

Right now, all we have is an allegation of a former (disgruntled?) minister. UN officials have found nothing.

 

[ThatGuy]

I found it interesting, though, that Tony Blair didn't deny the truth of the allegations in a statement he made about them.

"I really do regard what Clare Short has said this morning as totally irresponsible, and entirely consistent," he said.

"I am sorry that she has said the things that she's said, but she must know, and I think everyone knows, you can't have a situation where people start making allegations like this about our security services.

"It is completely irresponsible ... This is a dangerous time for this country and the world.

"We need our security services. We need these people who risk their lives for us to feel confident of the strong support and backing right across the political spectrum for what they do.

"I give them that strong backing - I think they do a fantastic job.

"I really regret the way they have been dragged through the mud over the past few months. It is totally unfair for them ...

"People who put them in the firing line like this - I really do not have a great deal of respect for ...

"It's just a pity she's done what she's done today because I think it is wrong."

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3489826.stm

 

[DrTeeth]

More disgrunted people at Reuters

But the fallout from the bugging charge -- made by former British minister Clare Short -- proved relentless as former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and two former U.N. arms inspectors said they believed they had been spied on.

"From the first day I entered my office they told me: beware, your office is bugged, your residence is bugged," Boutros-Ghali told the BBC.

"It is a tradition that member states that have the technical capacity to bug will do it without hesitation," he said.

...

But Richard Butler, a former chief U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq, added his voice to the spying row, saying "there was abundant evidence that we were being constantly monitored

...

His successor Hans Blix also said he believed his phone had been tapped, according to media reports from Australia.

No evidence whether this is true and who might be responsible, but it look like something fishy went on.

 

[deep]

maybe some of you don't remember,

but there were reports the Bush Administration bugged/ wire tapped members of the UN Security council.

That is most likely why they never had that final vote
that Bush promised would takr place before the Iraq war.

 

[meegannie]

maybe some of you don't remember,

but there were reports the Bush Administration bugged/ wire tapped members of the UN Security council.

The Clare Short revelation came the day after the case against Katharine Gun (the person who leaked the memo about the US and UK planning to bug/bugging the Security Council members) was dropped: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-1-1015468,00.html

 

[Dreadsox]

Does anyone remember me posting the story about the guard found dead in the stairwell at the UN. That story disappeared....

 

[Rono]

Does anyone remember me posting the story about the guard found dead in the stairwell at the UN. That story disappeared....

http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-12/02/content_286457.htm

The first searchresult on google,....

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

Tony Blair's really showed his true colours over this, accusing Clare Short of being in league with the Tories. What an exemplary politician: when an accusation is made against you, instead of responding to it, merely make unfounded accusations about the person responsible.

It is very telling that Blair hasn't denied the allegation. If it were untrue he would have nothing to lose by aggressively defending himself and his government. His failure to deny it is yet another strong indicator that the accusation is indeed accurate.