UNITED NATIONS — If America’s new ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, arrived here secretly hoping for some down time after his last two postings, he’s about to find that Turtle Bay is just as big a minefield as Kabul or Baghdad.

Last Tuesday, his second workday, Mr. Khalilzad had lunch at his new residence with an old U.N. hand, Iqbal Riza. A native of Pakistan, Mr. Riza is known as the oil-for-food shredder for his role in destroying documents the Paul Volcker commission believes were important in its investigation of the largest scandal in U.N. history. Consulting with Mr. Riza is not an encouraging sign for those who see America’s role as cleaning up the place.

Mr. Riza also represents those at Turtle Bay who have opposed the policies of President Bush that Mr. Khalilzad has been working so hard to enforce. While the United Nations may have been helpful to Washington in Afghanistan — specifically by gaining access to some elements America could not engage — it has been decisively absent in Iraq.

Part of the reason for this absence is that many around then-Secretary- General Kofi Annan saw the Iraq war as an American snub of Turtle Bay. Although a minority of U.N. officials advised more U.N. involvement in Iraq, most top aides argued that since Washington had made the mistake of ignoring them, it now should suffer the consequences and learn its lesson.

In contrast to Ambassador John Bolton, who departed in December, some U.N. denizens see Mr. Khalilzad as almost one of their own. Others are even daring to hope that the easygoing Afghanborn American diplomatic star might yield on such cornerstones of American policy as defending Israel against constant attacks at Turtle Bay.

“The good news is that he is not going to be as bad as Bolton,” the South African ambassador to the United Nations, Dumisani Kumalo, said.

Still, many also know that one of Mr. Khalilzad’s allies in Washington is Vice President Cheney, and that ultimately it is not the U.N. ambassador who creates policy. Mr. Khalilzad is a “neocon with Middle Eastern sensibilities,” an Arab diplomat told me last week, saying his image is that of a smooth, sophisticated diplomat.

“I believe that we don’t have all the answers and others have good ideas as well, and I will be thoughtfully listening to them. I am a problem solver. I will not posture,” Mr. Khalilzad told reporters last week. But he also reminded them that America is not the evil international player that many here think it is, and that it “stands for values of freedom, values of rule of law, values of economic prosperity.”

One of his first priorities, Mr. Khalilzad said, is to get the United Nations more involved in Iraq. But U.N. officials have no clue what they should do there. In addition to their traditional roles, helping fleeing refugees and assisting in elections, they are now playing a key part in an international assistance forum, the International Compact with Iraq, which is scheduled to meet in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik this week.

But you don’t need to be a neocon to realize that Iraq’s troubles are not going to be cured by international conferences. If the United Nations wants to help, first it should rethink the instinctive anti-Americanism that has plagued its halls. Instead of fighting old battles, it should pronounce itself ready to help. It would be useful if Secretary-General Ban said America is needed in Iraq and that leaving it prematurely would spell disaster for the country and the region.

Ultimately, however, the U.N. role in Iraq will not be determined by a new set of policies but by personalities. The top U.N. representative in Baghdad, a Pakistani named Ashraf Qazi, has failed to make his mark. After three years there, he is widely expected to leave when his contract expires this summer. Few diplomats are standing in line to replace him, however, and even fewer possess the qualities needed to give the United Nations some credibility among Iraqis.

In Kabul and Baghdad, Mr. Khalilzad formed a friendship with a former top U.N. troubleshooter, Lakhdar Brahimi of Algeria. It could be Mr. Brahimi who suggested a meeting with Mr. Riza, an old ally of his. Regardless of how helpful this crowd has been to him in the past, Mr. Khalilzad’s own stated goals will be much easier to achieve if he steers clear of them.

bavni@nysun.com