A Bug Problem At the U.N.

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Every time British Prime Minister Tony Blair seems to have tamped down the politically damaging fallout from his involvement in the Iraq war, something happens to revive the unpleasant issue. His attorney general stirred an outcry last week when he announced that the government would drop charges against a former intelligence analyst who exposed U.S. and British plans to spy on U.N. Security Council members potentially hostile to a war. Then Clare Short, a former member of Blair's Cabinet who last year resigned to protest her boss's stance on Iraq, accused British intelligence services of spying on U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan during the acrimonious walk-up to war.

If Short's revelation was dismaying to Blair (he rebuked her but did not deny the allegation), it was just as disturbing to security officials at the U.N., who were scrambling to locate the bugs. U.N. sources told TIME that the world body may soon take long-overdue action to make its New York City headquarters more resistant to espionage. With only about 200 security personnel, the U.N. has always found itself hopelessly outclassed by widget-wielding spooks from nations intent on spying — which is a common practice at the U.N. A senior U.N. official points out that the organization is not structured to maintain a sophisticated security service. So, sources say, it is considering bringing in private security contractors and consultants to fortify its defenses. In the interim, U.N. security will step up bug-detecting sweeps of Annan's 38th-floor offices and other sensitive areas.

So far, no one knows how Annan's conversations might have been recorded — perhaps by remote sensors or by bugs in the walls, phone lines or switching centers. Even worse, intelligence sources say they assume that Annan's staff has been infiltrated by informants.