At UN, Jane "Lockheed" Lute to Head PBC, Spain Eyed for Safety, How Will Irish Legal Chief Compare?

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1lutepbc080708.html

UNITED NATIONS, August 7 -- If at the UN you push for a $250 million no-bid set-aside for a military contractor from your own country, then decline accountability even while the contractor under-performs, what happens? Apparently, you get a new Assistant Secretary General job.

On August 7 it was confirmed that Jane Holl Lute, who actively pushed for Lockheed Martin to be given $250 million on a "sole source" basis to build peacekeeping camps in Darfur, will be the new ASG for Peace-building. This should present many opportunities, what with the Peacebuilding Fund -- coincidentially, a $250 million fund, video here -- and projects already in Burundi, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Central African Republic and Cote d'Ivoire. Lockheed's Pacific Architects & Engineers subsidiary, before flaming out in Darfur, was found by the UN to have over-billed in the Congo, and is reputed to have provided services to Charles Taylor and others of his ilk. In the PBC's portfolio there will be many such chances.

It is interesting to note that those who are usually concerned with mis-management at the UN have been strikingly silent on l'affaire Lockheed and Ms. Lute's documented role in it. It is perhaps for this reason that statements like "it had to be no-bid because the UN only knew in July 2007 it had to take over at the end of the year" have not been seen through. But Ms. Lute pushed Lockheed, in writing, in April 2007, before the Security Council's July 2007 UNAMID resolution.

Ms. Lute's insistence on Lockheed's PAE was objected to by the UN Controller, by the Headquarters Committee on Contracts, and ultimately by the General Assembly, which called for an investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services, the results of which have yet to be released. Throughout all this, Ms. Lute saw no need to publicly explain her actions until after actor George Clooney told Inner City Press, in front of Ms. Lute and over her objection, that "I am not a fan of no-bid contracts." In other circumstances there would be a hue and cry.

Here, there is only surprise that Lute didn't get a larger promotion, to Under Secretary General for Safety and Security. Having another American USG might have been too much, even for Ban Ki-moon. The DSS post is being held for another country. At Thursday noon briefing, beyond asking for a Lockheed Martin pull-out of Darfur update that was not given, Inner City Press asked for a second time about Ban Ki-moon's meeting in Mexico City earlier this week with Spain's vice president. The Spanish media reported that, along with again providing assurances about a Valencia Peacekeeping base which the General Assembly has still not approved, Ban asked Spain's vice president to nominate one of her countrymen for the Safety and Security post, "since Spain has been a victim of terrorism."

Spokesperson Michele Montas replied that Ban has sought nominations for the post from many, many countries. But, Inner City Press asked, does he make up a "this is why you're being asked" rationale for each country?

And why, some are wondering, was Ireland given the UN's chief legal job this week? Friends of the departed Nicolas Michel say that he grumbled, as he left, about being asked to sign off on dubious contracts. Will his replacement be even more pliant?

Footnote: in more transition news, the previous and founding UN Peacebuilding director Carolyn McAskie, in her farewell press conference on July 31, told Inner City Press that Guinea-Bissau is awash in drugs -- soon to be echoed by drug-fighting contracts, surely -- and that Somalia may not be ready. She said that in the future, member states and presumably her successor should develop rules and criteria for its agenda. Video here, at Minute 38:52.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1lutepbc080708.html