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| Iraq |
| UN and aid agencies cut and run |
| 2003-10-30 |
| Surprise, surprise... The United Nations pulled staff out of Baghdad on Thursday and international aid agencies debated whether they could continue operating in the face of a wave of suicide bomb attacks and persistent lawlessness. A U.N. spokeswoman in Geneva said foreign staff in Baghdad were leaving Iraq for talks on security, following Monday’s bomb attack on the International Committee of the Red Cross which killed 12 people including two ICRC guards. "We have asked Baghdad staff to come out temporarily for consultations with people from headquarters on the future of our operation," spokeswoman Marie Heuze said. She said the talks would focus on the security arrangements that "we would need to take to operate in Iraq." Most foreign staff had already been pulled out following a suicide truck bomb attack on the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad in August which killed 22 people, including head of mission Sergio Vieira de Mello. Since then, U.N. programs have been run mostly by Iraqi staff. Iraq’s police chief appealed to foreign aid agencies not to evacuate despite the dangers of working in Iraq. "I send a message to the humanitarian agencies that work in Iraq to keep up their work," Ahmad Ibrahim told reporters. "Don’t cave in to these criminal acts." A U.N. spokesman in New York said there were about 60 international staff in Iraq, with most of them in the north and about a dozen in Baghdad. Staff in the north were not being withdrawn, the world body said. The ICRC announced on Wednesday it was pulling out some foreign staff following Monday’s bombing but would not cease operating in the country. Spokeswoman Nada Doumani said on Thursday foreign Red Cross officials in Iraq would hold talks outside the country at the weekend to discuss how to reduce staff. But she insisted that there would be no general evacuation from Iraq. "We have seen plenty of signs of solidarity since the bombing," Doumani said. "Families of detainees, contractors and hospitals that we work with have been coming to our headquarters to plead with us to stay in Iraq." |
| Posted by:Zhang Fei |
| #6 Hey Babs--why don't you use your real name? "Mrs Sharon" |
| Posted by: NotMikeMoore 2003-10-31 12:41:53 AM |
| #5 I believe it was Tim Blair who had a quiz on his blog a few weeks ago asking, among other things, with the NGO's leaving Iraq at x per day and American entertainers (Bruce Willis, some comedians, singers, etc.) coming into Iraq at y per day, how long would it take for Hollywood types to outnumber wussies? One of his math-smart readers figured out the answer. I don't remember what it was, but it's obvious we've long passed that point. How do you spell "useless"? U.N. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2003-10-30 5:35:50 PM |
| #4 A U.N. spokeswoman in Geneva said foreign staff in Baghdad were leaving Iraq for talks on security... Great. When you figure it out, c'mon back. We'll see you in about 20 years. Hope the meetings are in a place with a lot of good, expensive restaurants. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-10-30 5:29:34 PM |
| #3 But... but the UN is the only organization that can help the Iraqis! Whatever will the poor Iraqis do without the cloak of legitimacy the UN bestowed upon them? |
| Posted by: BH 2003-10-30 3:33:52 PM |
| #2 I thought France had the patent on surrendering with barely a shot fired. Looks like the U.N. and Democrats may give them a run for their money.... I'm with the Iraqi police chief - don't cave in to those criminals. It is a good thing that the United States isn't about to 'cut and run'. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2003-10-30 1:54:50 PM |
| #1 The United Nations (news - web sites) pulled staff out of Baghdad on Thursday and international aid agencies debated whether they could continue operating in the face of a wave of suicide bomb attacks and persistent lawlessness. Terrorists are playing the UN like a fiddle. Imagine that. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-10-30 1:41:00 PM |