“By late January [2003] the Bush and Blair administrations had determined that Iraq failed to fully disarm and as a result they were putting tremendous pressure on the uncommitted members of the [UN] Security Council to vote in favor of its tough go-to-war resolution. On the other side, arguing against the war, were France, Germany, and Russia. Thus the ‘Middle Six’ on the Council, as they became known–Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Mexico, Guinea, and Pakistan–suddenly became top candidates for America’s friendship, and key targets for the NSA’s [National Security Agency’s] eavesdropping. …By listening in as delegates communicated back to their home countries, the NSA would be able to discover which way they might vote, which positions they favored or opposed, and what their negotiating positions would be. The agency also could pick up indications of what they needed, such as a highway, a dam, or a favorable trade deal, and, in a subtle form of bribery, the U.S. could provide the country with a generous ‘aid package’ to help pay for the construction.” [The 25 of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– James Bamford, The Shadow Factory, Page 141