In an interesting memo apparently leaked to the British newspaper Observer, a senior US NSA official is seen asking British (and, presumably, other) intelligence agencies to spy on U.S. allies to try to bolster the U.S. negotiating position over Iraq. This is seen by many as a Nixon-like dirty tricks.

Understandably, this has created a huge stir in Britain. What is even more surprising is how quiet this has been in the U.S. Has the American press lost all sense of journalistic independence from the government?

The Register has an article analyzing the authenticity of the memo.