After the Gulf War when the United Nations ordered
inspectors into Iraq to destroy its weapons of mass destruction, missile and
nuclear programs Saddam would often demand that the U.S. and British members of
the teams be removed. Baghdad accused those people of being spies for their
respective governments. As it turned out the Americans were using the
inspections to collect intelligence on Iraq. For example, the U.S. installed
eavesdropping devices into the U.N. communication network to tap into the Iraqi
military. In March 1996 when the inspectors installed video cameras at
suspected sites to monitor them, the Americans placed their own devices at
those locations as well. The deputy director of the inspections Charles Duelfer
was told about the spy program so that it would not be interfered with, but the
U.N. itself was never informed. Espionage was a major issue for the Iraqis, and
one of the reasons why they were opposed to letting the U.N. personnel into
their classified facilities. While it was wrong to think that the team members
themselves were spies, they were right that America was taking advantage of the
situation. Washington felt it more important to collect information on Saddam’s
military and covert programs then maintain the integrity of the inspection
process.
SOURCES
Gellman, Barton, “U.S. Spied On Iraqi Military Via U.N.,”
Washington Post, 3/2/99
No comments:
Post a Comment