posted on December 16, 2003 08:49:11 AM newI wonder what changed his mind
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, who once described Saddam Hussein as a man he could trust, said in a brief statement on Sunday that Hussein's capture would be a benefit to "war-ravaged" Iraq.
"The Secretary General considers that the capture of Saddam Hussein, the epitome of the former regime, is an important event," a U.N. spokesman said in a statement released in New York. "It offers an opportunity to give fresh impetus to the search for peace and stability in Iraq, on the basis of an inclusive and fully transparent process."
Annan had led a peace mission to Iraq in 1998 when then-President Bill Clinton threatened the use of military force if Iraq failed to comply with U.N. resolutions.
During that meeting, Annan had met directly with Hussein and his top officials and left feeling positive that changes were underway in Iraq.
Speaking to reporters following his trip, Annan said, "Can I trust Saddam Hussein? I think I can do business with him. I think he was serious when he took the engagement. I am perhaps not as pessimistic as some of you are."
Annan also told reporters in 1998 that he was impressed by the Iraqi dictator.
"Well, he is very calm -- very, very calm. Never raises his voice. Well-informed, contrary to the sense outside that he is ill-informed and isolated. And decisive. In the negotiations, I was impressed by his decisiveness," Annan said.
Annan said earlier this month that he was working to set up a new group to help him improve the situation in Iraq.
"I recently brought together the six neighbors of Iraq plus Egypt and five permanent members of the Security Council in addition to five elected members to try and form an advisory group which would work with me on Iraq. And it was also a beginning of my sense that we need to rebuild international consensus and pool our efforts to stabilize Iraq. I hope that we will all take steps that are unifying, that bring us together to tackle the important issues in Iraq, because no one is interested in a chaotic Iraq in the middle of that region," Annan said.
