“By late January [2003] the Bush and Blair administrations had determined that Iraq had 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. …By listening in as the delegates communicated back to their home countries, the NSA [National Security Agency] would be able to discover which way they might vote, which positions they favored or opposed, and what their negotiating positions would be. They [NSA] could also pick up indications of what they [the undecided countries] needed, such as a highway, a dam, or a favorable trade deal, and, in a subtle form of bribery, provide the country with a generous ‘aid package’ to help pay for the construction.” [The 25th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– James Bamford, A Pretext for War, Pages 363-364