The Bush administration is preparing to release supersensitive electronic intercepts obtained by the National Security Agency that officials say prove that Iraq has repeatedly lied to United Nations inspectors, plotted among themselves about how to conceal weapons material and even appeared to boast afterward at their success in doing so, NEWSWEEK has learned.
| I hope to hell that they're going to move within hours of this kind of release. Doing otherwise will allow the Iraqis time to figure how to turn off the spigot... |
THE DECISION TO allow Secretary of State Colin Powell to use the electronic intercepts in his speech next Wednesday to the U.N. was described by U.S. intelligence officials as extraordinary.
| You might call it that. Under any other circumstances it'd be better to call it "stupid." The amount of damage that will result is going to be awful for our intelligence collection capability. Iraq's not the only country in that part of the world. |
Electronic intercepts by the NSA are considered the most jealously guarded of all U.S. intelligence secrets and government officials are normally loath to even refer to their existence for fear of tipping off targets and drying up invaluable sources of information. But in this case, officials said, the intercepts are so damning and dramatic that officials say their release outweighs the potential harmâespecially given the increased likelihood that the United States will shortly be launching an invasion of Iraq anyway. âHold onto your hat. Weâve got it,â said one U.S. intelligence official familiar with the evidence gathered by the NSA.
| It'll probably be very dramatic. The Iraqis will, of course, deny everything, and their fellow-travellers will hop on board that approach. The Frenchies and Fritzies won't be able to do that, though. Both have intel services who know the capabilities of the system... |
For the past two months, ever since the U.N. inspectors re-entered Iraq and began searching for weapons of mass destruction, the NSA has been closely monitoring the conversations of Iraqi officials. The NSA intercepts establish conclusively that the Iraqis have been âhiding stuffâ from the inspectors, the U.S. intelligence official said. âTheyâre saying things like, âMove that,â âDonât be reporting thatâ and âHa! Can you believe they missed thatâ,â the official said. âItâs that kind of stuff.â
| Just like in bad novels, the Bad Guys can't control their impulses to gloat... |
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