UN's Annan blasts US over lack of security in Iraq

CREDIT: Manish Swarup, Associated Press

U.S. soldiers take a break against the tire of their vehicle after all-night efforts to rescue trapped victims at the site of Tuesday's United Nations' headquarters bombing.

ADVERTISEMENT

UNITED NATIONS -- As a second Canadian aid worker -- a woman who was an outspoken advocate for the welfare of children in war zones -- died from injuries sustained in Tuesday's bomb attack against the UN in Baghdad, a row erupted over the security failure at the compound, with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan saying U.S. forces should have known to patrol the area.

Gillian (Jill) Clark, 47, of Toronto, had already started packing her bags for her return home after an emotionally-challenging three-month posting to assess the needs of children in post-war Iraq.

She was at one of her last meetings for the Christian Children's Fund project at the United Nations headquarters when the bomb detonated.

Clark was scheduled to leave Baghdad on Monday.

"Jill was a very powerful advocate for the rights of the child and the welfare of children," said Geoffrey Keele, a UNICEF communications officer in Baghdad and a Saskatoon native who worked with Clark in Iraq.

"She believed very firmly in ensuring that children had the best possible start to their lives, and in a place like Iraq that is an extremely difficult thing to achieve, but she seemed quite determine to achieve it," he said.

As recovery crews continued to pull bodies from the compound's bombed-out remains, Annan and several UN officials admitted the world body had made mistakes on security policy.

It emerged Wednesday that amid the rubble are the remains of what would have been a concrete barrier that the UN had begun to build to prevent vehicles packed with explosives from being parked near the compound -- as happened Tuesday with devastating results. At least 20 people were killed, including two Canadians.

Building the planned 12-foot barrier earlier might have made a difference, UN officials conceded.

Annan rejected, however, Washington's reasoning that UN officials in Baghdad had refused offers by U.S. forces in Iraq to protect the compound.

"Nobody (asks) you if you want the police to patrol your neighbourhood," he said as he returned to UN headquarters after cutting short his holiday in Europe. "They make the assessment that patrol and protection is needed, and then they start, and that's what should be done in Iraq."

UN officials say the United States, as an "occupying power," is responsible under international law for providing security. But they also admit they did not want to frighten ordinary Iraqis by having their compound heavily fortified.

"Security around our location was not as secure as you might find at the U.S. compound, and that was a decision we made so the offices were available to the people," said chief UN spokesman Fred Eckhard, in comments that appeared to confirm the UN had refused U.S. help. "We did not think at the time we were taking an unnecessary risk."

As the chaos of Tuesday gave way to efforts to regroup Wednesday, UN officials said only two survivors of the 300 international staff members sent to Baghdad had accepted offers to return home.

The news allowed Annan to confidently declare the UN would resume its work in the Iraqi capital despite having suffered its worst attack ever.

"We will carry on our work. We shall not be deterred," he said.

But much will change because of the attack, which killed the UN's chief envoy for Iraq, and may claim more lives among the injured.

One fear is that the terrorists, whose identities and goals remained unknown Wednesday, now plan to target humanitarian workers of all international organizations.

The Red Cross, CARE and Oxfam have followed the UN in ordering security reviews.

"No one knows who the next target will be, and this time we may have been lucky," said CARE Canada spokesman Aly-Khan Rajani. He said CARE had reluctantly decided to limit staff movements even though doing so may impede delivery of aid.

The National Post

Here's a juicy little article from only a week or two back. It's got everything - Anan's hypocricy, UN thuggery, 'Let them eat cake-ism,' Clinton skullduggery, illegal arms sales and possession and, of course, lies, lies and more lies. I tried the link and couldn't get it to work, but the article should be in the Washington Times archives someplace. Here it is...

U.N. building to lose submachine gun stash

By Stewart Stogel
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
August 12, 2003

NEW YORK — The United Nations, under pressure from the Bush administration, has decided to move a stash of submachine guns out of the organization's New York City headquarters. The MP5s, made by Heckler and Koch of Germany, are to be moved to U.N. peacekeeping operations overseas, State Department sources said.

The United Nations purchased the restricted weapons for the personal protection of Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his travels around the New York metropolitan area. The weapons often were visible in the support van of Mr. Annan's motorcade as it moved throughout the city.

It was not clear why Mr. Annan's bodyguards needed such weapons, said sources within the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). Under a U.S. agreement with the United Nations, DSS bears ultimate responsibility for Mr. Annan's protection within the borders of the United States.

Models of the MP5 made since 1986 may be purchased only by law-enforcement agencies. The U.N. security force does not have "law-enforcement status," explained a source at the U.S. mission in New York. U.N. Security Chief Michael McCann made the decision to obtain the weapons in 1998, U.S. government sources said. Mr. McCann declined to comment but said through a spokeswoman: "The United Nations has been working closely with the United States" to resolve the issue.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which regulates the sale and purchase of the MP5s, originally denied the United Nations permission to purchase the guns. Key factors were the U.N. security department's lack of formal status as a law-enforcement agency and the risk of non-U.S. citizens gaining access to the weapons, State Department sources said.

The United Nations, aided by senior officials in the Clinton administration, persuaded the ATF to grant permission. In February 2002, the Bush administration ordered a review of the U.N. security officers' use of the weapons. Shortly after the 2002 ATF examination, U.N. security officials told The Washington Times, the MP5s were removed from Mr. Annan's security detail and locked up.

State Department sources said the United Nations and ATF never reached an accommodation that would have allowed the rifles back on the streets of New York. The United Nations agreed to transfer the weapons outside the United States. It was not clear when the weapons were to be moved. "We were told that the guns are headed to U.N. peacekeeping operations," said one U.S. diplomat.

http://www.washtimes.com/world/20030811-112153-1373r.htm

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


Steven Edwards and Adrian Humphreys
CanWest News Service