Bush Used NSA to Spy for Political Purposes

NSA documents show that President Bush used the National Security Agency to wiretap the home and office phones and monitor private email accounts of members of the United Nations Security Council in early 2003 to determine how UN delegates would vote on a resolution that cleared the way for the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Two former NSA officials say then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice authorized the plan at Bush's request President Bush. Bush wanted to know how delegates were going to vote. Ms. Rice did not respond to our email requests for comment (isn't it still condi@whitehouse.gov?).

Although the preceding isn't completely new information, it will come as a surprise to many Americans. The UN-NSA spying controversy received scant coverage when it leaked out in 2003.

These activities should be closely examined because it shows that President Bush has a history of using the NSA to further his political ambitions. If the NSA was directed to spy on UN delegates for the purose of diving a vote tally, its more than possible that Bush may have directed the NSA to monitor the acitivities of other political adversaries.