International

Iraqis furious over claims of U.S. spying

LONDON: The CIA may have lost its old glory but it does not appear to have kicked some of its old habits — such as spying on Uncle Sam’s own friends and allies. The Iraqi government is reported to be furious and wants an “explanation” from Washington over claims that the CIA has been spying on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other senior Iraqi leaders.

The claim is made in a new book by the Washington Post investigative journalist Bob Woodward, who quotes an American intelligence source as saying that “we know everything.”

In ‘The War Within’, to be released on Monday, Mr. Woodward reveals that the surveillance was so “extensive” that Mr. Maliki was bugged even during his weekly video-phone conversations with the U.S. President George W. Bush. British media on Saturday reported “shocked” Iraqi officials as saying that if the claims were true they would affect Iraqi-American relations.

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