Search and destroy
Peregrine Worsthorne
UNVANQUISHED by Boutros Boutros-Ghali I.B. Tauris, £19.95, pp. 352 Considering that this book is written by a former Secretary-General of the United Nations, it is remarkably full of wit, irony and indiscretion, and, even more remark- ably, wholly devoid of cant and waffle. In fact, believe it or not, it is as unputdown- able as a first-class thriller, which is not quite as surprising as it sounds since the book's plot is indeed about a monstrous and successful conspiracy to assassinate the author. No, not physically assassinate, which, truth to tell, would not be all that interesting since the story of how 'Jackals' go about their bloody business has already been told ad nauseam; but rather profes- sional assassination which, too, might not be all that interesting were the two assas- sins not the then American Secretary of State and his female accomplice, the then American Ambassador to the UN and now herself the Secretary of State.
Let's begin at the beginning. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, a former Egyptian Foreign Minister, scholar and linguist, was appoint- ed Secretary-General in 1991 — the first African to receive that honour — and all went well under President Bush who, on leaving office, sent him a hand-written note saying how much he had enjoyed working with him. Troubles began, however, with Bush's successor, President Clinton, or rather with his appointments of Warren Christopher as Secretary of State and Madeleine Albright as Ambassador, the latter arriving with an unfortunately expressed letter of recommendation from former President Carter who described this stout and stocky battle-axe as a 'heavy- weight in every sense'. Boutros Boutros- Ghali writes that he was 'puzzled... by her desire to strike attitudes rather than address substantive issues. She seemed to assume that her mere assertion of a US policy should be sufficient to achieve the support of other nations.' Puzzlement however, soon turned to consternation when, after long efforts, Boutros Boutros-Ghali got her boss War- ren Christopher to come to lunch, only to receive a curt message the day before ordering him to invite Madeleine Albright as well. After the first course, he asked his two guests if he might speak honestly, but off the record `Mr. Secretary and Madam Ambassador, I am deeply aware that the US is the major actor on the world scene. I know that I must have support if I am to succeed. I will always try and deserve that support but please allow me from time to time to differ publicly from US policy. This would help the UN reinforce its own personality and maintain its integrity. It would help dispel the image among many member states that the UN is just the tool of the US. To do so would also be in the inter- est of the US. It would give the US more options on its foreign policy if on some occa- sions it were able to use the UN credibly.'
If Boutros Boutros-Ghali thought that Christopher and Albright would understand this statement of the obvious, he was com- pletely wrong. His words appeared to shock them. 'Christopher and Albright looked at each other as though the fish I had served was rotten; they didn't speak. I was horrified and quickly changed the subject.' He was right to do so, as this book's detailed account of how the US, by manipulating and selective use of the Security Council, degra- ded the role of the United Nations to the status of a scapegoat, goes on to show. If the US had been paying the piper, their ruthless determination to call the tune might have been understandable; but, as Boutros Boutros-Ghali points out, the fact that their contributions were long overdue made their arrogance even more inexcusable.
Which brings us inexorably to the assas- sination. After serving his five years, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, following the suc- cessful precedent of all his predecessors, put in for a second term. In spite of repeat- ed and passionate support from Europe, Africa — particularly from Nelson Mandela — and the entire Arab world, the US, act- ing alone, went to every known length bribery, blackmail, bullying — and even an unknown one involving the famous TV celebrity, Barbara Walters — to have it turned down. Late one night he received a telephone call from her saying that she was acting on behalf of 'a very senior person in the administration' — in fact the President himself. She said he would receive a 'title' and 'perks' if only he would give up the fight, which he refused to do. A few days later a warm and deeply apologetic note arrived. Barbara Walters was embarrassed and ashamed to have been put into this role. 'Dear Boutros', she wrote, 'I hope you understand that in my telephone call I was only a messenger.'
What terrible misdeed had Boutros Boutros-Ghali committed apart from not always toeing the American line? None at all. American politics were the trouble as they so often are. The UN election coincid- ed with Clinton's campaign for a second term and Boutros Boutros-Ghali was being regularly derided and attacked by the lead- ing Republican candidate, Senator Robert Dole, who was telling Americans that the UN was a global conspiracy to rob them of their sovereignty and that 'black heli- copters' belonging to the UN had been over-flying the Rocky Mountain states in preparation for a UN takeover of the coun- try. According to Senator Dole, whose mocking pronunciation of 'Boo-trus, Boo- trus' sounded like a jeering crowd, Presi- dent Clinton had not done enough to stop these frightening developments. Hence the urgent need of President Clinton to do something dramatic to demonstrate his anti-UN credentials. What better way than to cause a major international row by refus- ing the Secretary-General a second term?
It is a shocking story. While the Cold War was on, perhaps the US was justified in throwing its weight around in this manner. But no longer. Nor is there any longer a jus- tification for the rest of the world to shut their eyes to such flagrant abuses of Ameri- can power. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, whose remarkable book shows him to be a man of intelligence and culture, has every right even a duty — to go public about his mis- treatment, and I hope America's most ardent admirers, of whom I used to be one, will share my sense of dismay and disillusion.
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