Author Michael Soussan was an idealistic college graduate who parlayed a job recommendation from a Brown classmate into getting a bit part in the largest financial and political scandal in the United Nation's history - the U.N.'s "Oil for Food" relief operation set up in 1996 to provide humanitarian aid to Iraqi citizens. He has written a gripping tale in "Backstabbing for Beginners/ My Crash Course in International Diplomacy" detailing what went on behind the headlines as the U.N. undertook the largest humanitarian relief effort in its history.
Soussan found himself in a dysfunctional (and later found to be corrupt) bureaucracy surrounded by spies, corrupt oil tycoons, big power politics, multibillion-dollar business interests, and self-serving diplomats all working to line their pockets and those of their sponsors while dedicated U.N. relief workers tried to meet the humanitarian needs of Iraq's civilians who suffered from dramatic shortages of basic necessities due to the stringent economic sanctions that followed Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
Sousson has been blamed by some for revealing the depth and breadth of the whole charade after he left the U.N. and called for an independent investigation. But his revelations and warnings led to knowledge that the UN Security Council operated much like a drug cartel, fighting over access to Iraq's oil and, in so doing, let Saddam Hussein cannibalize his own country in partnership with respectable international corporations and allies of the United States. We have also learned that the Clinton and Bush administrations were intimately aware of the massive fraud and found evidence that French and Russian government officials had directly participated in it, as had officials from all over Europe, South Africa, Australia, India, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, among others.
Sousson admits in "Backstabbing" that he helped his bosses pervert the democratic process in Washington with increasing skill and crossed the line when serious moral issues were at stake. "The line between serving the public interest conserving one's personal interest was an easy one to cross." He sank into a deep depression towards and eventually had to get out.
Sousson provides an insider's peek at how:
* Saddam used this operation to erode the U.N. sanctions and siphon money from "Oil for Food" to rebuild his military machine, and break out of his international isolation.
* Saddam held his people hostage.
* Saddam impeded the work of U.N. inspectors the UN.
* Saddam to use his oil wealth to play nations against one another due to the twisted mandate given the UN - enforce sanctions on Iraq on one hand and alleviate them on the other,
* UN observers were thwarted in making sure relief goods were not diverted.
* The program became known as the "oil for nothing" program with Americans calling it "the oil for palaces program."
* Saddam succeeded in dividing the international community for years until he finally succeeded in shattering its unity. The "Oil for Food Program allowed the member states of the Security Council to systemically violate their own laws and participate in the fraud.
* Inept U.N. General Secretary, Kofi Annan, was (and how inept most U.N. officials are). He had presided over a most corrupt enterprise without once moving a finger to set it right before was too late. And the political forces that the secretary-general had enraged by calling the invasion of Iraq illegal were not about to let him off the hook. The entire international community have been involved in the fleecing of a rack. Booker learned how systemically the member states of the Security Council participated in the fraud by violating their own laws.
* Poorly run the U.N. is. The U.N.'s was unable to enforce the minimum standards of accountability on its members, staff, and agencies. "Expecting accountability from UN system was akin to expecting a blind dog to catch a flying Frisbee. Having the UN in charge guarantees a high level of inefficiency."
Sousson also shares with us the four rules of survival in the U.N.:
Rule one - the truth is not a matter of fact; it is a product of consensus.
Rule two - never get stuck with the buck. The safest decision for bureaucrats to make was often no decision at all.
Rule number three - the assistant of your enemy is your friend. Divide and rule. The deputy would be given responsibility for management, though not the authority to manage. Decisions would remain firmly controlled by commands Chief of Staff. The core nature of the UN's management culture was that it ensures that people with responsibility had no authority; and vice versa, it protected the people with authority from having to take responsibility.
Rule number four - even the paranoid have enemies. This was a world of out-of-control, spineless cowards who were out to undermine the authority. Paper flow paranoia is a disease that is proper to large bureaucracies and is especially rampant the United Nations - every detail of paper communication is designed with the intent of harming.
"Backstabbing" was an eye-opener for me. I have remained neutral on the U.N. and its overall effectiveness in geopolitics with some good and some bad. I am now in the camp that funding for the U.N. must be reduced. It is a corrupt bureaucracy with multiple vested interests that are out of control. Yes, it can remain a symbolic place for debate but no longer can it be trusted to execute as a unified force for good in the world. Michael Sousson has done us a great favor with "Backstabbing." And I urge all Americans and others around the world to pick this book up and learn about the dark side of the U.N. It is now a danger to world peace.
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Top reviews from other countries
wanderkunstler
Excellent book about the UN
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 29, 2012H
If you have anything to do with the UN read this
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 19, 2013Georg Andreas Eie
Interesting and easy reading
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 19, 2013InformedShopper
A very entertaining and yet informative book
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 8, 2020
