Secret listening program in Iraq

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BEIRUT -- Wow, talk about intriguing. At the very end of the New York Times story on the looting of Saddam's bunkers under the noses of the Americans, James Glanz drops this little bombshell:

But the palace still retains its aura of mystery. Tucked away on the undamaged side is a largely secret communications project that Lucent is carrying out for the Iraqi Interior Ministry, said Frank Gay, a Lucent program director. A Lucent employee who refused to give even his first name let a reporter and photographer peek into the room where people worked quietly at laptops. "There's nothing to see," the employee said, hustling his guests on.

WTF? "Largely secret"? "Iraqi Interior Ministry"? My ears are all a-pricked. Actually, we (meaning journalists) always assumed our calls and emails were monitored by the U.S. military and others. Interesting to see it confirmed. Get cracking on this one, James!

1 Comment

Chris - an intriguing thread to follow - maybe an elephant at the other end?

Great posts. Stay safe. Chuck

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About me


Hi there! Thanks for stopping in. I'm Christopher Allbritton, former AP and New York Daily News reporter. In 2002, I went stumbling around Iraqi Kurdistan, the northern part of Iraq outside Saddam's direct control, looking for stories. (Some might call it "looking for trouble.") In March 2003, I made it back in time for the war, becoming the Web's first fully reader-funded journalist-blogger. With the support of thousands of readers, we raised almost $15,000. You can read my dispatches here. It was one of the moments in journalism when everything worked. It was a grand -- and successful -- experiment in independent journalism. In 2004, I moved to Iraq, where I would spend the next two years. It was a raucous, scary and exciting place with a lot of news going on. But I've since moved on to Beirut and the wider region. I now report for a variety of outlets.

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