Spy Charges Dropped for fear of Exposing Illegality of War..

[G_j]

www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0227-01.htm

Whitehall United in Doubt on War
Gun was ready to expose full extent of concern throughout government departments

by Richard Norton-Taylor

 The attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, agreed that secrets charges against the former GCHQ employee Katharine Gun should be dropped after the defense made clear that potentially hugely damaging evidence about the legality of invading Iraq would be disclosed in court, the Guardian has learned.

Serious doubts about the legality of the invasion were expressed in the run-up to war by senior lawyers throughout Whitehall, including the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defense
The doubts were expressed by the entire FO legal establishment, and not only Elizabeth Wilmshurst, the former deputy head of the FO's legal team who has said publicly that she resigned last year because she was unhappy with Lord Goldsmith's legal advice.

The FO argued, partly on the basis of intelligence, that the threat posed by Saddam Hussein did not warrant a pre-emptive strike. It also questioned Lord Goldsmith's interpretation of international law and the standing of past UN security council resolutions.
..more..
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Britain and US Shared Transcripts After Bugging Blix's Mobile Phone'

by Kim Sengupta and Kathy Marks in Sydney

 The controversy over alleged British and American "dirty tricks" at the United Nations deepened yesterday with claims that two chiefs of Iraq arms inspection missions had been victims of spying.
Hans Blix and Richard Butler were said to have been subjected to routine bugging while they led teams searching for Saddam Hussein's supposed weapons of mass destruction.

In an interview published today, Dr Blix said he suspected his UN office and New York home had been bugged by the United States in the run-up to war. He said bugging was to be expected between enemies, but "here it is between people who co-operate and it is an unpleasant feeling".

The new charges came within 24 hours of the former cabinet minister Clare Short stating British intelligence had taped the telephone calls of the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan.
..more..
www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0228-01.htm

[G_j]

1. a kick for Katharine Gun

:bounce:

[nolabels]

2. Truly they are on the defensive, but the bombastic nature of those...

folks must be taken in to account. They will not rest now, so we who are effecting the ousting must be ever the vigilant

[gandalf]

3. For further interesting material, look here

See this thread: The Thatcher/Opus Dei connection