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Former weapons inspector Derek Boothby explains UN to residents
Greenwich Post (CT) - Thursday, February 3, 2005
Author: Kristina Berlin Staff Reporter
Derek Boothby , a Britishborn employee of the United Nations, was on hand last Wednesday night to explain what KofiAnnan’s son was really doing with that money from the Swiss company Cotecna Inspection S.A. and what the UN was really doing in Iraq .
Mr. Bootby said that Kojo Annan was actually employed by the company for the value of his contacts in Africa, where he grew up. Furthermore, Kojo had left the company one month before it had become involved in the Oil for Food Program, inspecting freight shipments going into Iraq on behalf of the program. The company then began paying him not to share his expertise with anyone else, though Kojo was not active anymore within the company. In essence, what to some was an international scandal was to Mr. Bootby a case of a son forgetting to tell his dad he was earning some cash.
Mr. Boothby began working for the United Nations after a stint in the Royal Navy, and continued to do so for 20 years. Even after retiring once, he returned in June of last year to serve on the Iraq Operation Group, a committee that operationalizes directives from Kofi Annan, the secretary general of the United Nations.
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He said he believed that the decision of the U.S. to invade Iraq without being provoked by an actual armed attack was wrong and sends a bad message to other countries who might want to invade places too, such as China with Taiwan.
Because the UN charter states invasion should only occur after armed attack, he believes the UN should not be in Iraq today at all.
“I can tell you personally I don’t think the UN should be there, but the fact is we’ve been told to be there,” he said.
He addressed the differences in perception of the UN in countries that need its help versus countries like the United States. Most U.S. citizens don’t think about it often that the UN takes care of international mail and air traffic.
“Frankly the UN is much more of a hindrance to U.S. policy than a benefit,” he said, and added the third world thinks the UN is in the pocket of the U.S..
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maggie, you are a gem. Thanks for the research.
Very interesting research maggie. Especially the possible UN weapons inspections/Kofi Anan connections with Boothby’s dad or brother. Why in the world the military would bring in people, who despise our military and their mission, to write articles is beyond stupid...it’s self defeating.
We might want to see if these people(Hastings and Boothby) have any connections to The Institute For War And Peace Reporting(a George Soros outfit that underminied the war and which I believe trained insurgents in Iraq in yellow journalism and propaganda). My guess is that we will find a connection there somewhere. I will see what I can find when I get a chance later.