Disgusted, Annan abandons Iraq talks

It is one thing to be the middleman. It’s another to be caught in the middle. After working for more than a year to get Iraq to agree t...

It is one thing to be the middleman. It’s another to be caught in the middle. After working for more than a year to get Iraq to agree to a resumption of UN weapons inspections — and being criticised for the results by the White House — secretary-general Kofi Annan has decided it is time to bow out of negotiations over the issue and leave the next steps to Baghdad, Washington and the UN Security Council, his spokesman said.

It’s at this pivotal moment that could make the difference between peace and war that Annan is stepping back into the shadows.

Annan declined to be interviewed. It was not immediately clear what impact Annan’s decision might have, though he has been instrumental in the past in mediating between the Hussein regime and the Security Council. Some diplomats say his attempts in the past week to forestall an attack on Iraq went beyond the call of diplomatic duty.

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On Monday, when the Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri sent a letter to Annan announcing that Iraq would allow UN weapons inspectors in, the media received copies before the White House. This stirred intense US dissatisfaction.

Officials in the State Department said that though the letter was addressed to Annan, he should have given Washington more time to consider the matter before releasing it to the media.

This made it seem like the issue of weapons inspections was resolved. Annan should not have worked so closely with Iraq, they said. (LATWP)