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Iraq
Iraqi Ambassador to Return to Baghdad
2003-04-11
Iraq's U.N. Ambassador Mohammed Al-Douri, the first Iraqi official to concede defeat in the U.S.-led war, is leaving for Baghdad soon, Arab diplomats said Thursday.
Bon voyage!
The Iraqi envoy told some diplomats he expected to leave Friday night via Paris, but that his plans weren't finalized and he might remain in New York for a few more days.
Wonder if he'll ask for asylum in Paris?
Al-Douri had declared ``the game is over'' on Wednesday and expressed hope that the Iraqi people will now be able to live in peace. On Thursday, he met privately with Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Afterward, he refused to answer questions from the media about that conversation, his future or the war. ``I am sorry - no answer,'' he said. ``No comment at all. This is my last word to you.''
Promises, promises!
Annan also wasn't commenting on the meeting in his 38th floor office overlooking the East River. ``We have nothing to say about that meeting,'' said Annan's spokesman, Fred Eckhard. ``It was requested by the ambassador, and we feel that anything to be said about what happened in that meeting should be said by the ambassador.''
"Frankly we didn't understand a word he was saying, and remember, we're the UN!"
Besieged by reporters, photographers and camera crews at his residence and at the United Nations, Al-Douri did manage to have several private conversations with ambassadors and diplomats in the Delegate's Lounge during his two hours at U.N. headquarters. ``I wished him good riddance luck and commented on his mustache, but I don't know what he said to the secretary-general and what will be his next steps,'' said hapless Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa who talked with Al-Douri before his own meeting with Annan. Al-Douri is expected to fly to Paris and then on to the Syrian capital, Damascus, en route to Baghdad to be reunited with his family, the Arab diplomats said. In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday night, Al-Douri said he will continue to work at the United Nations and had no intention of defecting. ``Defecting from who?'' he asked. ``I think the government has already defected. There is no more Iraqi government to be defected from.''
That's actually pretty droll.
Posted by:Steve White

#5  Saw the ambassador give an interview on MBC (Arabic, London) today. Oh my. He said how much his heart was broken, then he started to CRY. Got himself back together and finished up by saying the Iraqis had to be patient. Yeah patient in putting him behind bars!
Posted by: michael   2003-04-11 21:38:59  

#4  It's taking him so long to leave because his American Express has been canceled.
Posted by: Da_Gunny_Retired   2003-04-11 06:19:29  

#3  I think if he stops short on the street, he'll break some CIA guy's nose...
Posted by: mojo   2003-04-11 02:16:49  

#2  Perhaps, RW, that's because there's going to be a, um, party meeting there. Personally I'd have a Global Hawk watching Al-Douri's every move in Syria.
Posted by: Steve White   2003-04-11 01:41:46  

#1  You know it's time for sleep when you read the last sentence he said as "There is no more Iraqi government to be defecated [on]".
And why is it he has to go thru Syria when you have a perfectly good Jordan next door?
Posted by: RW   2003-04-11 01:31:45  

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