NSA Provided Intelligence That Secured Iraq War Vote

According to two internal NSA documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and released by The Intercept on Monday, SIGINT provided by NSA helped the US mission to the United Nations secure the 2003 UN Security Council resolutions to wage war in Iraq.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Signals intelligence (SIGINT) provided by the US National Security Agency (NSA) helped the US mission to the United Nations secure the 2003 UN Security Council resolutions to wage war in Iraq, according to two internal NSA documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and released by The Intercept on Monday.

"Timely SIGINT played a critical role in the unanimous adoption of the UN Security Council Resolutions 1441 (strengthened the inspection regime and demanded Iraq disarm or face serious consequences) and 1472 (revised the humanitarian aid program for Iraq)," the first document stated.

The document noted that the "overall volume of SIGINT" supplied to the US mission doubled during the period the two resolutions were being negotiated.

The second document, written by NSA Deputy Director for Analysis and Production Chris Inglis, noted that UK Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock relied on SIGINT insights into internal divisions among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — referred to as the P5 — prior to the vote.

The document explained that Greenstock used NSA-provided intelligence to "decide what line to take with P5 counterparts in New York and Washington, and to temper the language of his diplomatic forays" among the UN Security Council members.

In June 2013, Snowden leaked classified information to journalists, revealing the massive global surveillance programs run by US intelligence services, including of Americans in the United States. Snowden is wanted by the United States on charges of theft of government property and espionage.