U.S. Crusader Odd Man Out at U.N.

The Washington Post ^ | July 31, 2007 | Colum Lynch

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Last year, John R. Bolton, then U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, recruited Mark D. Wallace as the U.S. representative for U.N. management and reform. Given that Bolton was a longtime critic of the U.N. bureaucracy, no one expected that Wallace would go meekly about his new job.

And he didn't. He has met with informants eager to spill bureaucratic secrets, scrutinized internal audits and butted heads with U.N. officials he suspects are blocking his efforts to uncover corruption in development programs in places including North Korea and Burma.

(snip)

The new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, has struggled in recent weeks to prevent Wallace's probe from triggering a larger public battle between the United States and the United Nations. Last week, he stepped in to defuse a standoff between Wallace and the U.N. Development Program's associate administrator, Ad Melkert. Wallace and Melkert have clashed repeatedly over the investigation. "We're not interested in a public argument," Khalizad has said.

(snip)

Wallace recently expanded his investigation into the development program in Burma, and he has pressed for the appointment of an independent investigator to look into the agency's operations. He sought authority to challenge the agency's contention that it has done nothing wrong in a public briefing with reporters.

But Khalilzad has pressed for a more diplomatic approach, instructing his staff to resolve the matter behind closed doors. He also met last week with the development agency's administrator, Kemal Dervis, to try to reach an agreement to keep the issue out of the headlines, according to U.S. and U.N. officials. "They agreed to lower the temperature in terms of the public nature of the dispute but to continue to pursue efforts to get to the bottom of all allegations," agency spokesman David Morrison said.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

So, with "Big John" Bolton out, our new policy at the U.N. is to help cover-up its many scandals behind closed doors?

[Diogenesis]

Back to supporting terrorism, corruption, slavery,
genocide, and extortion?