Leaked Cables: US spying on UN leadership (Washington is running a secret intelligence campaign)

[Turborama]

Source: The Guardian

• Diplomats ordered to gather intelligence on Ban Ki-moon
• Secret directives sent to more than 30 US embassies
• Call for DNA data, computer passwords and terrorist links

Washington is running a secret intelligence campaign targeted at the leadership of the United Nations, including the secretary general, Ban Ki-moon and the permanent security council representatives from China, Russia, France and the UK.

A classified directive which appears to blur the line between diplomacy and spying was issued to US diplomats under Hillary Clinton's name in July 2009, demanding forensic technical details about the communications systems used by top UN officials, including passwords and personal encryption keys used in private and commercial networks for official communications.

It called for detailed biometric information "on key UN officials, to include undersecretaries, heads of specialised agencies and their chief advisers, top SYG aides, heads of peace operations and political field missions, including force commanders" as well as intelligence on Ban's "management and decision-making style and his influence on the secretariat". A parallel intelligence directive sent to diplomats in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi said biometric data included DNA, fingerprints and iris scans.

Washington also wanted credit card numbers, email addresses, phone, fax and pager numbers and even frequent-flyer account numbers for UN figures and "biographic and biometric information on UN Security Council permanent representatives".

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/28/us-embassy-cables-spying-un

[Catherina]

1. Blackmail.

Washington also wanted credit card numbers, email addresses, phone, fax and pager numbers and even frequent-flyer account numbers for UN figures and "biographic and biometric information on UN Security Council permanent representatives".

How low. How absolutely low.



***************
from funmoi: RT @BeetleCarDriver: "US Government is just about to find out what it feels like to go through a nudie-scanner." #cablegate

[jberryhill]

8. Or figuring out is someone is being blackmailed /nt

[Catherina]

21. Right. Our hearts are pure? n/t

[jberryhill]

25. Well, what did we do to them?

Nobody's hearts are pure, and it's probably a good idea to know what other impure hearts have in store for you, no?

You seriously wouldn't expect that we'd want to know everything we could about persons in positions of power?

Since when has uncritical and trusting acceptance of authority figures been a virtue?

[Catherina]

27. Ok, for a minute there, you were scaring me. n/t

[rainbow4321]

34. DNA samples....

I'd like to think of an innocent reason for needing people's DNA sample but unfortunately what comes to mind first is DNA being planted at a potential crime scene.

And, yes, I have seen too many movies but once you get someone's a scan of someone's iris, how hard would it be to make a "copy" of it and use that copy to get into another country's secure building that may use an iris scan as their security system? Ditto for any fingerprints or other "biometrics" they were (are?) collecting?

[jberryhill]

35. Two reasons

1. To determine whether something, e.g. a document, has been handled by that person.

2. To determine whether that person has a susceptibility to various diseases, allergens, psychopathic impairments, etc. that might impair their judgment.

[Sanity Claws]

2. 2009 under Hillary Clinton

My, my, my.

When I read the article I was expecting to see that this shit happened under Bush. No, the directive was issued in 2009.

[xchrom]

3. I think genghis khan behaved better. Nt

[Imajika]

5. Oh stop it...

Every nations intelligence services try to spy on the UN and everyone else they can.

It is part of doing business in a dangerous world.

Hillary's State Dept would be derelict if it wasn't trying to get this information.

[Dennis Donovan]

7. If you can't beat 'em, join them...

lovely...:thumbsdown:

[jberryhill]

10. So, it would be a bad idea

To try to find out if a UN official was on the take from someone?

Do you always have an implicit trust of authority figures?

[xchrom]

15. Few powers have been more influential in creating corruption

In the modern than us.

It's good to know we behave - and this is a good example of the
Example we set.

[flyarm]

50. "Do you always have an implicit trust of authority figures?" ..I don't..Especially from

our very own " most corrupt " Government !!!

In fact, it is the only Government I have any say in and control of!

And it is why I will vote now only to remove every incumbant, irregardless of party.

I am after all..an American first and foremost! It is my responsibility under the US Constitution to participate in removing everyone from my Government who has broken our laws and does not defend our rule of law!

[xchrom]

14. The world is so dangerous because we have significant responsibility for

Making it that way. No player has been more important than us -
And we have behaved very, very badly indeed.

So you just stop it.

[Parker CA]

4. Wow, this should go over well on the world stage. Geezus....

[Dennis Donovan]

6. To DUers who were here late 2002-early 2003...

...this (US spying on UN delegates) has been well-known. I, myself, remember the shock and disgust I felt when this came to light back then.

[Sanity Claws]

9. It continues

that's what has me upset. A directive was issued in 2009.

[ShamelessHussy]

11. exactly, and now we have more details of what they are looking for

sounds like info to track them

[Dennis Donovan]

13. That's what saddens me to my soul....

As cynical as old age has made me, I believed President Obama would change this. I guess I was wrong...:(

[Posteritatis]

19. I was assuming that went right back to 1945

And that all of the UN members are doing it.

Of course, specific info is interesting.

[flyarm]

51. yes indeed and not just people who were on DU, I was posting about it as well as my internet group

on AOL and other message boards..in fact I posted it so many times I got kicked off AOL message boards!

[NYMdaveNYI]

12. But, this stuff is predominantly Bush-era, right?

Spying on, and distrust of the UN seems very Bush/Cheney-esque.


Remember, PNAC wanted to withdraw us from the UN.

[dipsydoodle]

17. 2009 under HRC

.

[Very_Boring_Name]

29. Anything HRC did would have been approved by Obama

For all we know, she was ordered by him to issue that directive.

[NYMdaveNYI]

40. I cant believe she would do that.

It seems so Bush-ish to me.

[EFerrari]

45. It's American-ish. When BushCo did it, they just did it more in your face

and not very well.

[totodeinhere]

37. No, a lot of this stuff has happened since Obama took office. n/t

[Arrowhead2k1]

16. This is FUCKED. UP...

I'm speechless...

[Catherina]

20. Very fucked up and now it's come to light. Hype not hope. No change. n/t

[Imajika]

22. Speechless eh?

Countries spy on friends and foes alike! More shocking news at 11!

Come on, seriously? You didn't know this?

[jberryhill]

26. No, we should implicitly trust any authority figures and not attempt to find out anything about them

[Imajika]

28. The ignorance is astounding...

So many people here apparently don't realize we spy on damn near everyone. That just tells me that an awful lot of DUers are living in lalaland.

What matters is what we DO with the information.

The Obama administration uses intelligence to build bridges where they can, unlike the Bush administration which used it to bully people and nations as a first option.

[Solly Mack]

18. Regarding detainees and their torture

"It also wanted to know about plans by UN special rapporteurs to press for potentially embarrassing investigations into the US treatment of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay"

[ProgressIn2008]

42. Repulsive. nt

[EFerrari]

46. And there it is. n/t

[Odin2005]

23. It's OK as long as Obama does it!

:sarcasm:

[jeff47]

52. I would be astounded to find out is hasn't been going on since Truman.

So sorry, no real anti-Obama dig there.

[DavidDvorkin]

24. If only Hillary had won the nomination and the election! This would never --

Oh, wait.

[Very_Boring_Name]

30. What proof do you have that Obama didn't know/didnt order his SoS to do that?

[jberryhill]

31. Since when it is not worthwhile to know about UN officials?

:shrug:

[Very_Boring_Name]

32. Well, it depends on what the information is being used for

If its being used for blackmail, which it sounds like it probably was, then that is not acceptable. I'm not condoning what HRC did, I'm just wondering why she's getting all the blame

[jberryhill]

33. "which it sounds like it probably was"

Really? In what way do the documents suggest they were being blackmailed?

Would you prefer they were being blackmailed by someone else, and we not know about it?

Since you use the word "probably", then I gather you have a reason for this assessment.

Is it because Hillary Clinton is prone to that sort of thing?

[Very_Boring_Name]

36. I don't think you're understanding what i'm saying

I'm not blaming Hillary Clinton for anything, in fact I'm defending her. I don't think its fair to put the blame squarely on her shoulders when she was most likely ordered or authorized to do this by the president.

[jberryhill]

41. "Blame" for what?

I would expect the US government to know all that can be known about UN officials, foreign diplomats, etc.

Now, you said the information was "probably" being collected for the purpose of blackmail, and I want to know what facts take you to that conclusion.

[Ghost in the Machine]

44. "....and I want to know what facts take you to that conclusion."

"Washington also wanted credit card numbers, email addresses, phone, fax and pager numbers and even frequent-flyer account numbers for UN figures and "biographic and biometric information on UN Security Council permanent representatives".

Just from this, I could come away thinking that they were looking to see if someone had a gambling problem/lots of debt, was using escort services, etc. so they could either be bought off or blackmailed. Other than that, it's just a total invasion of privacy and a de facto investigation of someone who hasn't even been accused of a crime. If they had something on a certain person, they could obtain a warrant if their evidence was credible.

I don't know about you, but I don't like the idea of someone running any kind of background check on me without my knowledge or permission, and this goes a lot deeper than a background check, don't you think?

[Shandris]

47. There is also the distinct possibility that a 'threat' category...

...is being created for each of these people by discovering how easy it is to obtain said information. The easier it is, the more of a risk that individual is. This is particularly true of high-ranking advisors to particular field specialists, as they have no direct link to their government but their word is still heeded in the Halls of Power.

It would be the height of ignorance not to perform a threat assessment on each and every individual who is meeting with our President, wouldn't it? People actually thought President Obama would STOP this? We wanted him to create an environment of CHANGE, not to put a 'NAIVE AND GULLIBLE' sign on our forehead.

[jberryhill]

49. Still not seeing the problem

"Just from this, I could come away thinking that they were looking to see if someone had a gambling problem/lots of debt, was using escort services, etc. so they could either be bought off or blackmailed."

Yes.

It would have been good to know that about Elliot Spitzer sooner.

[totodeinhere]

38. It doesn't matter if Obama knew about it or not.

The buck stops with him. Either he knew about it or he was incompetent enough not to know about it. Either way, it makes him look bad.

[DavidDvorkin]

43. Of course Hillary would instantly obey an order from Obama, no matter if

it clashed with her conscience.

[AngryAmish]

39. I think Carville seriously underestimated the number of balls Hillary has

[Turborama]

48. Kick

:kick: