Lobbying the UN

A lot of people are upset about the recently uncovered memo on US surveillance of UN Security Council members, going back into the Watergate slam bag by calling it a “Dirty Tricks” campaign. Dirty Tricks, of course, is a lot more than surveillance – Nixon’s campaign was about making things happen in the world that were embarrassing to McGovern, not just getting info on his plans. The NSA is simply monitoring communications between and among Saddam’s key business partners and allies on the Security Council, as well they should. The Security Council is one of the battlefields of the War on Terra, and we have to know what Saddam’s buddies are planning there just as much as we have to keep up with their plans in Iraq, the Philippines, and Israel.

Failure to monitor for lobbying purposes would actually be negligent.