‘Bicyclists Off Balance’

Bicyclists are a lethal danger to pedestrians [“Bicyclists Off Balance,” Editorial, November 5, 2004]. For years I have tried to get the City Council to endorse a law mandating a bell on all cyclists. These are frequently the ones who violate all traffic regulations, ride on sidewalks, often in the wrong direction, and are a menace to life and limb, particularly of older citizens. A member of my own family was knocked unconscious by one such cyclist, a hit-and-run criminal, and hospitalized with serious injuries. The mayor, the police commissioner, and the City Council speaker have ignored my letters and proposals. A compulsory warning bell would do much to alleviate the problem. Is it not time for action?

JEROME L. STARR
Manhattan
Mr. Starr is a professor emeritus of the humanities faculty at the School of Visual Arts.

‘Annan Past His Time’?

Please allow me to set the record straight on your editorial “Annan Past His Time” [November 18, 2004].

1. The secretary-general has never “stonewalled” U.S. congressional investigations into the oil-for-food program. Instead, he has deferred to Paul Volcker, head of the independent inquiry committee, or IIC, investigating the matter, who has stated that, “Partial and premature disclosure of sensitive internal documents or demands for congressional appearances of United Nations employees will be damaging to the pursuit of investigative leads, chill participation of those called upon to cooperate with the IIC, and risk misleading, prejudicial, and unfair impressions of institutional, personal, and member state behavior.”

2. It is also misleading to say that Saddam Hussein “enriched himself and his henchmen, to the tune of $21.3 billion, $17.3 billion of which occurred on Mr. Annan’s watch.” The secretary-general was never mandated or equipped to prevent Saddam from illegally smuggling oil, or from trading with neighboring countries, which accounts for a large part of the figure cited above. Under Security Council resolutions it was up to member states of the U.N. (including Iraq’s neighbors) to enforce the sanctions. But tacit exemption was given to Jordan and Turkey, important allies of the United States, whose dependence on trade with Iraq was understood and accepted.

3. It does appear that Saddam was able to gain additional revenue by exploiting loopholes in the oil-for-food program itself, imposing illegal surcharges on oil sales, and extorting kick backs from importers of humanitarian goods. The Duelfer Report estimates this revenue at $1.74 billion, while the General Accounting Office gives a figure of $4.4 billion. When Mr. Volcker concludes his inquiry we should be better placed to understand what really happened, and know whether either of these figures is anywhere near the truth. Meanwhile, it should be noted that the Security Council did put a stop to the oil surcharges (by introducing “retroactive pricing”) after Mr. Annan drew its attention to them in a 2001 public report. U.N. staff also sought to focus the council’s attention on anomalies in the import contracts which left room for kickbacks, but the council (including the U.S. and the U.K.) took no action.

4. Nor did Mr. Annan side with Saddam over weapons inspections, as your editorial suggests. On the contrary, he repeatedly demanded that Iraq comply with its obligations to allow weapons inspectors into the country and give them full and unfettered access. As the Duelfer report shows, the combination of “aggressive” U.N. inspections and sanctions persuaded Saddam unilaterally to destroy his weapons of mass destruction arsenal in 1991, and dissuaded him from attempting to rebuild it thereafter.

5. Perhaps most far-fetched are the Sun’s assertions about Mr. Annan’s stance on terrorism. He has, on countless occasions, condemned terrorist attacks from whatever quarter, including Palestinian suicide bombings – which he has called “heinous crimes.” Under Mr. Annan’s leadership, the U.N. is waging the international struggle against terrorism on numerous fronts.

In addition to keeping watch on whether countries are meeting their anti-terrorism obligations, it has agencies that are actively striving to prevent nuclear materials from falling into terrorist hands, strengthening border patrols and international cooperation to prevent terrorist activities, and promoting aviation security.

He fully intends to continue leading these efforts for the remaining two years of his term.

EDWARD MORTIMER
Director of Communications Executive Office of the Secretary-General
United Nations
Manhattan

‘After Annan’

While the resignation of Kofi Annan is much to be desired, I doubt that the Security Council would nominate our President Clinton to be the secretary-general of the United Nations, since it is a solid tradition that citizens of powerful, nonneutral, nuclear countries who are permanent members of the Security Council do not become secretary-general [“After Annan,” Edward I. Koch, Opinion, November 18, 2004].

Presidents Gorbachev and Carter have tried and failed.

TONI RACHIELE
Manhattan

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