By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, January 5 -- It was the day after Christmas that US State Department spokesperson Jan Psaki said, "the United States condemns in the strongest terms today’s rocket attack at Camp Hurriya that has reportedly killed and injured camp residents and also injured Iraqi police officers... we have been in communication with the United Nations Assistant Mission in Iraq, UNAMI."
And now at 8 am on a Sunday morning 11 days later, UN Secretary General has named an American, the well placed Jane Holl Lute, as the his Special Adviser for relocation of Camp Hurriya residents outside of Iraq."
As Inner City Press reported exclusively back in 2008 Jane Holl Lute played a large role in the awarding of a sole source contract with Lockheed Martin for "super camps" in Darfur. Ultimately Jane Holl Lute, after the General Assembly except the US voted to express concern about the $250 million set-aside for an American military contractor, agreed that it has caused confusion. Click here for that.
No confusion here: the UN has been pilloried for its deal with the Camp Ashraf and now Camp Hurriya residents. The issue still follows previous UN envoy to Iraq Martin Kobler as he goes on pro-government victory tours of Eastern Congo, and does not answer questions about the impact of withdrawing a full battalion of peacekeepers after pledging to "neutralize" the Hutu FDLR militia.
So now Ban Ki-moon, as often happens, puts the issue in American hands. Recently the US moved Uighurs out of Guantanamo Bay to Slovakia, and Psaki's deputy Marie Harf fielded questions from Chinese media about the implications, and reciprocity. Is Jane Holl Lute's role to put the "full faith" (and credit?) of the US behind requests to countries to take in the Hurriya residents? Will they turn on her as well? Watch this site.
Footnotes: In December 2013 when Inner City Press exposed and is now pursuing France's non-public "Letter of Assist" payment from the UN and its member states for air field services in northern Mali, French ambassador Gerard Araud said to look other states, and to ask the UN Spokesperson.
There, simple financial answers -- like, what percentage of UN letter of assist payments do France, Russia, the US and others each get -- have still not been given. This inquiry is a follow up to Inner City Press' previous exposure of the UN's set-aside Darfur contract for Pacific Architects and Engineers, then a subsidiary of the US' Lockheed Martin. Now PAE is no longer with Lockheed, and is "in the game" in Mali.
Also at issue in Mali are the alleged gang rapes by Chadian UN "peacekeepers," on which UN Peacekeeping's Herve Ladsous has given no update at all. Jane Holl Lute was big on "zero tolerance" when she was at the UN; even since then, on the Minova rapes in the DRC and now in Mali, there has been backsliding. Will Holl Lute do anything on this issue?
Ladsous repeatedly says he has a "policy" against answering Inner City Press questions, because of questions Inner City Press asked about his public acts, including 1994 positions on Rwanda. Inner City Press asked Jane Holl Lute if her husband's position on Iraq in the US government might be conflict. She bristled -- but never "pulled a Ladsous." That, is on him. And that the UN now accepts Ladsous' "policy" is indicative of UN decay. The new Free UN Coalition for Access is pushing back. Watch this site.
