Spying at the U.N.

Mexico City

Diplomats from Mexico and Chile have accused the United States of spying on members of the United Nations Security Council during the run-up to the Iraq war. Both countries were on the council as it debated whether to authorize the invasion. Chile last week said the U.S. had tapped its U.N. mission’s telephones, and Mexico demanded to know whether the spying charges were true. Mexico’s former U.N. ambassador Adolfo Aguilar Zinser said the U.S. routinely eavesdropped “to anticipate the decisions of other countries.” The State Department declined to respond. “We don’t comment on allegations concerning intelligence matters,” a spokeswoman said.

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