UN security in Iraq dysfunctional and sloppy says report

UNITED NATIONS - A chilling report of the August bombing of UN offices in Iraq says some lives might have been saved if a "dysfunctional" and "sloppy" UN security system had heeded advance warnings and followed its own rules.

The probe by an independent panel, released on Wednesday, blames the security apparatus in New York and in the field as well as top management for lapses before the Aug 19 attack on UN offices in Baghdad that killed 22 people and injured 150.

"The main conclusion of the panel is that the current security management system is dysfunctional," said the 40-page report by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, appointed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to lead the investigation.

"The observance and implementation of security regulations and procedures were sloppy and noncompliance with security rules commonplace," the report said.

The probe also confirmed allegations made by US officials -- that the United Nations in Baghdad had refused protection because it was uncomfortable with US tanks and other security measures, wanting to distance itself from the occupation.

Consequently, UN officials asked the US military to withdraw heavy equipment from the compound in the Canal Hotel, dismantle an observation post on the roof and remove obstacles and concertina wire from the access road where an orange flatbed truck approached and exploded, the report said.

"Adequate security arrangements may not have been able to prevent the attack against the Canal Hotel perimeter, but would certainly have minimized the vulnerability of the staff and premises and reduced the number of casualties caused by the attack, " the report said.

Like the UN system itself, Ahtisaari said security was scattered among semi-independent UN relief agencies and political staff. There was little accountability, no clear chain of command, a stifling bureaucracy, too little money, and too few professional staff to evaluate intelligence.

The deficiencies cited by Ahtisaari's team ran the gamut of security breaches -- from not knowing the number of foreign staff in Baghdad, to delaying until this day installing shatter-proof glass, to not reacting to reports shortly before Aug. 19 that the UN offices were a target.

The report said the list of foreign staff in Baghdad was out of date. The ceiling of 200 international staff in Baghdad had risen to 350 by the time of the attack. But some believed as many as 550 foreign staff were in Baghdad and as many as 900 in all of Iraq and "no one could give accurate numbers," the report said.

Even after the bombing, more staff came into the country but there were only 20 professional UN security officers.

The security personnel, however, did make recommendations. They were ignored -- even by Annan who was under pressure to keep staff in Iraq and reduced them only gradually until only a handful remain today.

The report also points to a Steering Group on Iraq, headed by Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette, saying the body also was slow to co-ordinate security measures.

The report takes some comfort in the fact Annan convinced the United States, in a resolution adopted last week, that he could determine the pace of return of UN staff to Iraq, depending on security.

But it says the security system needed to be revamped for all UN missions and warrants and "separate and independent audit process."

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq