On
Syria, NYT on
Kane But Why
NOT Khan al
Asal,
What of UMOJA,
Germany?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 2 --
Confession as
revisionism?
The New York
Times
tonight ran an
interview
with UN
Disarmament
official
Angela Kane,
allowing her
to say she
regretted not
investigating
the alleged
use
of chemical
weapons in
Khan al Asal
in Syria in
March.
Several
facts
are not stated
in the
article. For
example, even
when the UN
team under Ake
Sellstrom
returned to
Syria from
September 25
to 30,
they did NOT
visit Khan al
Asal.
Also,
while
inconvenient,
Angela Kane in
her previous
UN post as
head of
the Department
of Management
was subject to
investigation
for
irregularities
in the UN's
"UMOJA"
computer
upgrade. Inner
City Press exclusively
reported on
this,
including
obtaining and
publishing the
audit.
The
NYT story uses
the adjective
"friendly" as
in Kane asking
"friendly"
countries to
fly the
chemical
weapons
samples.
But this is
key -- while a
long time UN
official, when
she was taken
out of her
Department of
Management
post, it was
her native
Germany
which lobbied
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon to
keep Kane on
and thus
to keep an
Under
Secretary
General post
for Germany.
This
is how the
UN works. Kane
was offered a
UN job in
Lebanon,
sources told
Inner
City Press,
and rejected
it. Over the
candidacy of
the
Philippines'
Permanent
Representative,
Kane got the
Disarmament
post. But the
connection
with Germany,
given its
position on
Syria, should
have
been
mentioned.
We
don't mean to
be harsh --
the NYT
recently
switched UN
correspondents,
and giving
time is key.
(Some other
media with
bureau
chiefs too
long, too
embedded here,
it's another
story -- one
from Reuters
has
even spied for
the UN, still
UNexplained,
click here for
that).
But
while wanting
to give time,
these
omissions may
not bode well.
We'll
retain an open
mind.
Footnote:
one
also wonders
why the NYT
has not
covered the
controversy
surrounding Saudi
sponsored
Syria rebel
boss Ahmad al
Jarba being
feted in the
UN by France,
and hosted by
Ban Ki-moon in
his
residence,
much less France's
colonial
domination of
the Security
Council's
upcoming trip
to Africa.
But, one issue
at a time.
Watch
this site.
, 
