International   

Iraqis furious over claims of U.S. spying

LONDON: The CIA may have lost its old glory but it does not appear to have kicked some of its old habits — such as spying on Uncle Sam’s own friends and allies. The Iraqi government is reported to be furious and wants an “explanation” from Washington over claims that the CIA has been spying on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other senior Iraqi leaders.

The claim is made in a new book by the Washington Post investigative journalist Bob Woodward, who quotes an American intelligence source as saying that “we know everything.”

In ‘The War Within’, to be released on Monday, Mr. Woodward reveals that the surveillance was so “extensive” that Mr. Maliki was bugged even during his weekly video-phone conversations with the U.S. President George W. Bush. British media on Saturday reported “shocked” Iraqi officials as saying that if the claims were true they would affect Iraqi-American relations.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

I’m here to fix the system: Zardari
Medvedev: ready to take on the West
Prachanda told to discuss ‘unfair treaties’
Bonhomie replaces grimness
Colombo refutes charge
He must rise above party loyalty: Sharif
Iraqis furious over claims of U.S. spying
Streamline visa process: Obama
Burning bright
Pakistan stops oil supplies
Indian engineers fighting against the fury of Kosi
India for early adoption of convention against terror
Illegal Indian immigrant crushed to death

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu