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Bugging devices found in the EU
Posted: 2003-03-19 07:59am
by Crown
The BBC reports
The highligts for those with interest. Buggind devices, so far limited to phone taps, have been found in the French and German offices. There have also been reports of devices being found in other delegates offices. The story was first broke by a French newspaper which blamed the US (note: at this point the newspaper blamed the US not a French official).
However the EU spokesman Dominique-Georges Marro, said it was 'impossible at this stage' to determine who had planted the device.
The taps were found in the Justus Lipsius building, which houses the secretariat of the EU Council of Ministers (this is the representitive of the heads of state of all EU countries).
Now this murks the water, while I certainly wouldn't put it part either the US actually bugging the offices of it's allies, I certainly wouldn't expect them to actually bungle the operation. Ditto goes for France, or any other of the major players.
The often murky and clouded waters of international espionage and intriuge, are about to become very interesting over the coming days. As if the war on Iraq wasn't enough excitement to fuel our collective paranoid, over-opinionated and consipracy-loving-cravings.
Questions? Comments?
Posted: 2003-03-19 08:16am
by theski
I'm thinking it was the Stonemasons
Posted: 2003-03-19 08:18am
by Crown
theski wrote:I'm thinking it was the Stonemasons
Did you click other? You know I was hoping that we all were going to play a nice round of finger pointing... should I have put Australia on the poll? Oh well, who ever gues - errr, I mean who ever uravels this correctly before it's announced (as if!) gets a cookie
Posted: 2003-03-19 08:19am
by Zoink
If I was a betting man, I'd place my money on the U.S.
Posted: 2003-03-19 08:25am
by theski
Finger or flameing, hmmmmm, let the games begin.. I think it was the Isralies.. There that should get the ball rollin..
Posted: 2003-03-19 08:26am
by Admiral Valdemar
I would say either the CIA or MI6. Both have ample reasoning to listen in on those nations, though the Stonemasons and Illuminati may be in on this too...
Posted: 2003-03-19 09:04am
by Wicked Pilot
Zoink wrote:If I was a betting man, I'd place my money on the U.S.
It better fucking not have been us. But for some reason, I wouldn't be suprised if it was.
Posted: 2003-03-19 09:12am
by Zoink
Wicked Pilot wrote:
It better fucking not have been us. But for some reason, I wouldn't be suprised if it was.
Its generally understood the countries spy on each other, while France and Germany would make a big huff... they do the same thing themselves. Take a look how France handled "Greenpeace" during their 80s nuclear testing... planted spies and commando raids on their organization, all brought to light c/o the determination of the NZ gov't.
Its kinda how that Fletcher guy was laughed at (he even laughed himself) when he answered "No the US doesn't try to buy/intimidate other countries on the security council to vote for us"
Posted: 2003-03-19 09:15am
by Col. Crackpot
theski wrote:I'm thinking it was the Stonemasons
ummm, yeah it's the Freemasons, and no we didn't do it either.
Posted: 2003-03-19 09:15am
by Boba Fett
theski wrote:Finger or flameing, hmmmmm, let the games begin.. I think it was the Isralies.. There that should get the ball rollin..
I second that!!!
I don't want to underestimate the CIA or any other intelligence service in the US but I don't think they would be able to make it.
They seems to be out of practice since the cold-war... (I mean classic intelligence methods not high-tech related ones...)
Beside that, the Ashalon system should do fine without "bugs".
On the other the MOSAD is in constant practice and Israel is pretty much involved in this matter as well, so...
Edit: Fear the Typo-man!!!
Posted: 2003-03-19 09:18am
by Zoink
Maybe the guy from "The Hunted" planted it. Nobody would see him.
Posted: 2003-03-19 10:26am
by neoolong
I don't know, I would have though that the US would have done a better job. Or maybe I'm just giving too high an estimation of our agencies.
Posted: 2003-03-19 10:53am
by jegs2
theski wrote:Finger or flameing, hmmmmm, let the games begin.. I think it was the Isralies.. There that should get the ball rollin..
ALLEHU ACKBAR! DEATH TO ISRAE... oh wait, wrong forum...
Posted: 2003-03-19 12:11pm
by irishmick79
Maybe the Russians or the Chinese did it as well...or maybe the Japanese, or how about the Egyptians? A lot of countries who aren't exactly involved in the day to day workings of the EU might have interest in this kind of operation for intelligence purposes.
Posted: 2003-03-19 12:16pm
by Knife
Who knows, perhaps the Angolian Secret Service had to remove the CIA's bug from the phone to make room for theirs. Everyone spy's on everone else, pretty much on exception.
Posted: 2003-03-19 12:19pm
by Stravo
I wouldn't put it past us, but I sincerely thought we were far more advanced than this, putting an actual bug in the phone, I thought we could do funky things with microwaves and stuff to just pick up these transmissions without physically putting a bug there. Then again, I may be watching too much James Bond.
Posted: 2003-03-19 12:21pm
by Boba Fett
Stravo wrote:I wouldn't put it past us, but I sincerely thought we were far more advanced than this, putting an actual bug in the phone, I thought we could do funky things with microwaves and stuff to just pick up these transmissions without physically putting a bug there. Then again, I may be watching too much James Bond.
No, you're right Stravo.
The Ashalon spy-satellite system can already observe even phone communication from above.
Posted: 2003-03-19 12:37pm
by HemlockGrey
Bwahaha! All your secrets are laid bare! The mighty American Armada is coming to crush your nation whilst the Central Intelligence Agency steals the very dreams from your head!
Be interesting if it turned out to be Iraq.
Posted: 2003-03-19 01:02pm
by RedImperator
What about the Russians? Putin is ex-KGB, and I don't think the GRU (is that what they're calling themselves these days?) has been exactly sitting on its hands since the end of the Cold War. They've got just as much reason to spy on the EU as anyone.
Posted: 2003-03-19 01:11pm
by Arrow
While it could be the US, I would hope we would be more inventive. There are plenty of neat tricks you can play with computer moniters, lights and the like.
Posted: 2003-03-19 01:32pm
by Anarchist Bunny
My crazy theory:
Iraq has both the Germans and the French by the balls somehow, thats why they are so anti-war, and they bugged them to make sure they didn't let anyone know.
Posted: 2003-03-19 01:40pm
by Sea Skimmer
Could be anyone from South Africa to a local newspaper
Posted: 2003-03-19 04:07pm
by Andrew J.
Can you guys keep a secret?
...
It was me.
Posted: 2003-03-19 04:10pm
by DPDarkPrimus
Andrew J. wrote:Can you guys keep a secret?
...
It was me.
*Hands you over to France, gets lifetime pass to Eurodisney, which I refuse to accept, and take a Monet from the Louvre instead.*
Posted: 2003-03-19 04:26pm
by phongn
RedImperator wrote:What about the Russians? Putin is ex-KGB, and I don't think the GRU (is that what they're calling themselves these days?) has been exactly sitting on its hands since the end of the Cold War. They've got just as much reason to spy on the EU as anyone.
GRU is their military intelligence (no idea how it compares to the DIA). Their civilian intelligence agency is the RVS.