22 Davie, “Search for the SRSG.”
CHAPTER 22. POSTMORTEM 1 Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Press Conference at Arlanda Airport, Stockholm, August 20, 2003, online at .
2 “UN Envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello Begins Final Journey Home,” August 22, 2003, &Cr=xxxx&Cr1=#.
3 Kofi Annan, “Secretary-General Mourns Loss of ‘Dear Friend’ Sergio Vieira de Mello, Memorial Service in Rio de Janeiro,” August 23, 2003, online at Press/docs/2003/sgsm8829.doc.htm.Vieira de Mello’s “dying wish,” which quickly entered popular lore, was not mentioned in the press before Sevan’s tarmac speech on August 22. The following day the Washington Post published an article with the headline: “ ‘Don’t Let Them Pull the U.N. Out of Iraq’; Envoy’s Final Words Related by Army Sergeant Who Tried to Free Him.”
4 Kofi Annan, “Secretary-General’s Press Encounter with the Ambassadors of Malaysia, Cuba and South Africa Regarding the Attack on the United Nations in Baghdad,” August 22, 2003.
5 Liana Melo and Rita Moraes, “Energia e paixão Com a mesma intensidade que trabalhava, o diplomata reconstruía a vida afetiva” (Energy and Passion:With the Same Intensity with Which He Worked, the Diplomat Reconstructed His Personal Life), Istoe, August 27, 2003.
6 On August 21 the FBI also got a confession of sorts. A previously unknown group, the Armed Vanguards of the Second Mohammed Army, claimed responsibility. "We say it proudly that we did not hesitate for one moment to kill crusader blood,” said the group. In a typewritten statement in Arabic sent to the Dubai-based satellite TV channel al-Arabiya, they pledged “to continue fighting every foreigner [in Iraq] and to carry out similar operations.” Brian Whitaker, “Mystery Group Says It Planted Baghdad Bomb,” Guardian, August 22, 2003. Suspicion also fell upon Mullah Omar, the head of the Taliban, who on August 11 had told the Arab media that the “enemies of Islam” were not only the United States, the U.K., and Jews, but also “the UN and other international organizations.” Lopes da Silva to UN Headquarters, August 28, 2003. The Associated Press reported on the contents of the two-page message from Mullah Omar, written in Pashtu, which said: “Oh Muslims, know the enemies of your religion—the Jews and Christians. America, Britain, the UN and all Western aid groups are the greatest enemies of Islam and humanity.” Kathy Gannon, “Reclusive Taliban Leader Calls International Aid Groups ‘Enemy of Islam,’” Associated Press, August 12, 2003.
7 Iraq Steering Group meeting, August 22, 2003.
8 Ramiro Lopes da Silva to UN Headquarters, August 27, 2003. Among the 4,233 Iraqi staff, 2,830 worked in the northern governorates, 157 in central Iraq, 935 in Baghdad, and 311 in southern Iraq. Kevin Kennedy to UN Headquarters, September 23, 2003.
9 Iraq Steering Group meeting, August 25, 2003.
10 Ibid.
11 Iraq Steering Group meeting, August 28, 2003.
12 Iraq Steering Group meeting, September 11, 2003.
13 Lopes da Silva to UN Headquarters, August 25, 2003. On August 24 UN security reviewed the ten hotels being used by UN staff and required staff to leave five of them. Iraq Steering Group meeting, August 25, 2003.
14 Lopes da Silva to UN Headquarters, September 1, 2003.
15 Lopes da Silva to UN Headquarters, September 2, 2003.
16 Kevin Kennedy to UN Headquarters, September 10, 2003.
17 Iraq Steering Group meeting, September 8, 2003.
18 Kennedy to UN Headquarters, September 3, 5, and 11, 2003.
19 Kennedy to UN Headquarters, September 5, 2003.
20 Kennedy to UN Headquarters, September 7 and 8, 2003.
21 Kennedy to UN Headquarters, September 16, 2003.
22 Report of the Independent Panel on the Safety and Security of UN Personnel in Iraq, online at (hereinafter Ahtisaari report).
23 Kevin Kennedy was the rare UN official who agreed with Annan. Afraid of stranding Iraqi staff, he wrote to New York: “The UN should only leave if a direct, sustained threat, indicative of an organized campaign against United Nations personnel, premises or programmes, was established.” Kennedy to UN Headquarters, September 11, 2003.
24 “Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Remarks to the Memorial Ceremony in Honour of Colleagues Killed in the Bombing of the United Nations Mission in Baghdad,” September 19, 2003.
25 Internal UN Discussion Draft, Planning Assumptions, September 19, 2003.
26 Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Anthony Shadid, “Gunmen Injure U.S. Appointed Iraqi Official,” Washington Post, September 21, 2003, p. A1.
27 David Filipov, “Rebuilding Iraq: New Strains after Iraq Blast; UN to Reconsider Staffing Levels,” Boston Globe, September 23, 2003, p. A1.
28 Kevin Kennedy,“Baghdad Update #3: SMT Recommendations,” September 22, 2003. On the suggestion of Kevin Kennedy, the SMT included a caveat that if the secretary-general deemed it necessary, a small voluntary presence of international staff could be maintained in Baghdad to provide leadership to national staff, to liaise with the CPA and the Governing Council, and to continue beefing up security at the Canal Hotel. SMT,“For Consideration of the Steering Group on Iraq, Concept of Operations for a Core Presence in Baghdad, 22 September 2003.” In a follow-up memo on September 24, Kennedy elaborated on the functions of this core presence. “A UN international presence, regardless of size, is more than mere symbolism; it indicates visible commitment and involvement. Ongoing discussions of a future role for the organization will be affected if the UN withdraws all international staff from Iraq and even a small presence can perform a critical role.” The abandonment of national staff weighed on him: “National Officers, regardless of experience and rank, will not get the same access or reaction from the Coalition, should assistance be required on an urgent basis.” In addition “a complete departure of international staff may have a direct impact on the continued deliverance of NGO programmes.” Kennedy also noted the UN’s experience with reconstruction and the assistance UN officials were giving civilian contractors and Coalition engineers. “If all internationals leave, that work, for the most part, will cease, making a larger re-entry more difficult.” The proposed core team included nineteen UN officials. “Concept of Operations for Core International Presence in Iraq,” September 25, 2003.
29 Kennedy, "Baghdad Update #3.”
30 In April 2004 Lopes da Silva was named country director of the World Food Program operation in Sudan.
31 Gil Loescher, online diary, .
32 Annan’s report to the Security Council in August 2004 said that the security of UN staff would be the “overarching guiding principle” for all UN activities in Iraq. In December 2004 Annan announced the creation at Headquarters of the UN Department of Safety and Security, for which the General Assembly added $53.6 million to the UN’s regular budget. The Department of Safety and Security would have 383 posts, 134 of them temporary. See .
33 Al-Kurdi said he had also been involved in the September 22 attack, dropping off the car used by the bomber. He was involved in a November 12, 2003, attack on the Italian police headquarters in Nasiriyah, killing nineteen Italians, the first Italian casualties in the Iraq war and the worst single loss of life for Italy since World War II. Twenty Italians were wounded. At least eight Iraqis were killed, and more than fifty wounded. He also owned up to the assassination of Izziden Salim, the former president of the Iraqi Governing Council. Al-Kurdi was arrested on January 15, 2005, and testified on March 30 before the Iraqi Central Criminal Court.
34 All quotes in the confession taken from Ashraf Jehengir Qazi to Ibrahim Gambari, “Meeting with Awraz Abd Al Aziz Mahmoud Sa’eed, aka Al Kurdi,” Code Cable CZX-251, July 3, 2006.
EPILOGUE 1 Felicity Barringer,“UN Chief Says New Force in Iraq Can Be Led by U.S.,” NewYork Times, August 23, 2003, p. A2. “We have played a vital role,” Annan said. “But we did because of that personality. Because of Sergio being who he is. The next time around, the mandates have to be very clear and well-defined. I cannot rely on personalities. I had only one Sergio.”
2 SVDM, “The World’s Con
science: The UN Facing the Irrational in History,” inaugural lecture at the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, November 2, 2000, p. 11.
3 Ibid., p. 6.
4 SVDM, “Global Governance and the UN,” address to annual meeting of Trilateral Commission,Tokyo, 2000.
5 SVDM, “War and Politics: The Humanitarian Deceit,” written 1998, unpublished, p. 2.
6 Ibid., p. 4.
7 SVDM, “The World’s Conscience,” p. 11.
8 SVDM, “The Future of UN State-Building,” International Peace Academy conference, October 18-19, 2002, .
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 SVDM, “War and Politics,” p. 10.
13 SVDM, “Challenges in Peacekeeping: Past, Present and Future,” New York, October 29, 2002.
14 SVDM, “Philosophical History and Real History: The Relevance of Kant’s Political Thought in Current Times,” Geneva International Peace Research Institute, December 4, 1991.
15 SVDM, “The World’s Conscience,” p. 11.
LIST OF INTERVIEWS (excluding sources who asked not to be named)
PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS
INTERIOR IMAGES
Pages 13, 17, 27, 34: Courtesy of Gilda Vieira de Mello
Page 28: UNHCR Photo
Page 97: UN/DPI Photo
Page 103: Courtesy of Mieke Bos
Page 124: UNHCR/I. Guest
Page 139: Francois Briquemont/Ediciones Tricorne
Page 169: Courtesy of Michael Rose
Page 191: Gilles Peress/Magnum Photos
Page 223: Hazir Reka/Reuters
Page 242: The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, MacNeil-Lehrer Productions
Page 251: Ivan Miluntinovic/Reuters
Page 253: AP Images/Peter Kujundzic
Page 287, all: AP Images/John Stanmeyer/VII
Page 291: AP Images/Jason Reed
Page 293: The New York Times Graphics
Page 313: Matthew Sleeth
Page 342: AP Images/Dita Alangkara
Page 345: Denis Balibouse/Reuters
Page 396: AP Images/Bullit Marquez
Page 410: AP Images/Samir Mezban
Page 421: Stan Honda/Getty Images
Page 434: Courtesy of the UN, photographer unknown
Page 463: Joao Silva/The New York Times
Page 469: Rob Gauthier/Reuters
Page 495: AP Images/Firdia Lisnawati
Page 501: Frederic Neema/Gamma/Eyedea Presse
Page 503: AP Images/Robert Sullivan
INSERT IMAGES
Pages 1-4, all: Courtesy of Gilda Vieira de Mello
Page 5, top: Courtesy of Gilda Vieira de Mello; bottom: Courtesy of Timur Goskel
Page 6, top: Sylvana Foa, courtesy of Jamshid Anvar; bottom: Courtesy of Gilda Vieira de Mello
Page 7, all: Courtesy of Mieke Bos
Page 8, all: Courtesy of Michael Rose
Page 9, top: AP Images/Srdjan Suki; bottom: UN/DPI Photo
Page 10, top: AP Images/Ruth Fremson; bottom: Courtesy of Gilda Vieira de Mello
Page 11, top: Commonwealth of Australia; bottom left: Edy Purnomo/Getty Images; bottom right: Nicole Hochschild
Page 12, top: Courtesy of Dennis McNamara; middle: UN/DPI Photo; bottom: Courtesy of Carolina Larriera
Page 13, top left: Courtesy of Jonathan Prentice; top right: Courtesy of Gilda Vieira de Mello; bottom: White House Photo by Eric Draper
Page 14, top: AP Images/Vahid Salemi; bottom: Courtesy of Carolina Larriera
Page 15, top: Stan Honda/Getty Images; bottom: Courtesy of Carolina Larriera
Page 16, top: AP Images/Victor R. Caivano; bottom: Vania Laranjeira
INDEX
Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations. "SVDM” refers to Sergio Vieira de Mello.
Abdullah, Crown Prince
Abona, Saad Hermiz
Abu Ghraib
Abu Nidal .
Abu Walid
Adolph, Robert:
on excessive UN staff in Iraq
June Threat Assessment of
on perimeter fencing of Canal Hotel as security coordinator for UN mission
in Tent City after Canal Hotel attack
“affirmative action,”
Afghanistan:
Brahimi as UN envoy to
Rice comparing Iraq with
Rumsfeld on nation-building in .
SVDM and humanitarian trap in
Taliban .
torture in
Aghadjanian, Paul
Ahmed, Salman
Ahtisaari, Martti
Aimé, Jean-Claude
Akashi,Yasushi .
as arriving in Cambodia
with Boutros Boutros-Ghali,
on Cambodian elections
as head of UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs
Khmer Rouge defying
Khmer Rouge marginalized by
Khmer Rouge refusing to deal with
Khmer Rouge’s disappointment with
and NATO air strikes in Bosnia
on prostitution in Cambodia
on refusing to use force in Cambodia
on return to normal life in Bosnia
and Sarajevo market massacre and security breakdown in Cambodia
and Serb attack on Gorazde enclave
Silajdžić breaking off contact with
as special representative in Yugoslavia
strained relations with SVDM
SVDM excluded from decision-making by
SVDM’s criticism of
United States criticized by .
and UN peacekeepers escorting Serb tanks
as UNTAC head
on UN war crimes tribunal
Albright, Madeleine .
Ali, Marwan:
and Bremer’s criticism of SVDM
as going on leave to Jordan
and Hooper just before explosion
on Iraqi anger
on Manuel’s injuries
on security situation in Iraq
and al-Sistani
on SVDM and Coalition
on SVDM discovering world of Iraq
and SVDM keeping up appearances with UN staff
on vagueness of Security Council Resolution
Ali,Tariq .
Alkatiri, Mari ,
Almstrom, John
Amal
Amanpour, Christiane
Amaral, Domingos
American exceptionalism
Anderson, John Lee
Andreev,Viktor
Angola
Annan, Kofi:
as becoming secretary-general
bin Laden on
Annan, Kofi (cont.)
and choosing administrator for East Timor
on Coalition invasion as illegal
commemorating Baghdad victims
on continuing mission in Iraq
divorce of
at East Timor independence ceremony
and humanitarian crisis in East Timor
on humanitarian intervention
and increased security for Baghdad UN headquarters .
investigations into staff security
on launching UN operations
and NATO intervention in Kosovo
Oil for Food scandal .
plans for UN reform by
at reestablishing UN presence in Iraq .
and replacement of Ogata as UN High Commissioner for Refugees
and Saddam Hussein’s weapons
on Security Council Resolution .
security phase V for West Timor
statement on Canal Hotel attack
SVDM appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq by
and SVDM as UNHCR deputy head of personnel services on SVDM earning a vacation .
on SVDM having “political bug,”
SVDM named under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs by
SVDM named UN High Commissioner for Human Rights by
SVDM on secretary
-general’s role and
SVDM’s leave from UNHCR extended by
and SVDM’s mission behind Serb lines
on SVDM wanting to be in the field
and UN administration of Kosovo
and UN role in postinvasion Iraq
UN staff feeling let down by
and U.S. threat to invade Iraq
Ansar al-Islam
Anvar, Jamshid
Aquino, Corazon
Arafat,Yassir
Arboleda, Eduardo
Arbour, Louise
Argov, Shlomo .
Armitage, Richard
Arnaout, Ghassan
Arraf, Jane
al-Assad, Bashar
Assadi, Jahanshah
Austin, Reginald
Ayun, Y-Pen
Azerbaijan
Ba’ath party n.
Baker, James
Bakhet, Omar:
and Buddhism
life after Canal Hotel attack
as meeting with Kabila
as showing Rwandan genocide sites to SVDM
on SVDM as future secretary-general
on SVDM defending his thesis
on SVDM in Iraq
and SVDM on UN weapons inspector’s spying for U.S.
and SVDM’s love of women
and SVDM’s meeting with Prodi
on SVDM’s mission to Kosovo
on SVDM’s relationship with Larriera
Bali nightclub bombing
Banbury, Anthony
Bangladesh, , ,
Baril, Maurice
Baron, Romain
Baskin, Mark
Becker, Elizabeth
Begic, Hasan
Belo, Felipe Ximenes
Ben Ali, Zine El Abidine Benomar, Jamal
Berger, Sandy . Bertron, Jean-Marie
Beye,Alioune Blondin .
bin Laden, Osama
Black, Cofer
“black boxing,”
Blair,Tony
Blitzer,Wolf
Blix, Hans
Bloch, Ernst
Blue Routes
Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World Page 76
