U.N. building to lose submachine gun stash

From: "Aftermath News"
U.N. building to lose submachine gun stash

"It is the sacred principles enshrined in the United Nations charter to which
the American people will henceforth pledge their allegiance."

- President George Bush addressing the General Assembly of the U.N.,February
1,1992.

"The world is flooded with small arms and light weapons numbering at least 500
million, enough for one of every 12 people on earth. Most of these are
controlled by legal authorities, but when they fall into the hands of
terrorists, criminals and irregular forces, small arms bring devastation. They
exacerbate conflict, spark refugee flows, undermine the rule of law, and spawn a
culture of violence and impunity. In short, small arms are a threat to peace and
development, to democracy and human rights."

- "Small Arms, Big Problem", an essay by Kofi A. Annan, which apperaed in the
International Herald Tribune July 10, 2001.

U.N. building to lose submachine gun stash

By Stewart Stogel
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

NEW YORK - The United Nations, under pressure from the Bush
administration, has decided to move a stash of submachine guns out of the
organization's New York City headquarters.
The MP5s, made by Heckler and Koch of Germany, are to be moved to U.N.
peacekeeping operations overseas, State Department sources said.
The United Nations purchased the restricted weapons for the personal
protection of Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his travels around the New York
metropolitan area.
The weapons often were visible in the support van of Mr. Annan's motorcade
as it moved throughout the city.
It was not clear why Mr. Annan's bodyguards needed such weapons, said
sources within the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS).
Under a U.S. agreement with the United Nations, DSS bears ultimate
responsibility for Mr. Annan's protection within the borders of the United
States.
Models of the MP5 made since 1986 may be purchased only by law-enforcement
agencies.
The U.N. security force does not have "law-enforcement status," explained
a source at the U.S. mission in New York.
U.N. Security Chief Michael McCann made the decision to obtain the weapons
in 1998, U.S. government sources said.
Mr. McCann declined to comment but said through a spokeswoman: "The United
Nations has been working closely with the United States" to resolve the issue.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which
regulates the sale and purchase of the MP5s, originally denied the United
Nations permission to purchase the guns.
Key factors were the U.N. security department's lack of formal status as a
law-enforcement agency and the risk of non-U.S. citizens gaining access to the
weapons, State Department sources said.
The United Nations, aided by senior officials in the Clinton
administration, persuaded the ATF to grant permission.
In February 2002, the Bush administration ordered a review of the U.N.
security officers' use of the weapons.
Shortly after the 2002 ATF examination, U.N. security officials told The
Washington Times, the MP5s were removed from Mr. Annan's security detail and
locked up.
State Department sources said the United Nations and ATF never reached an
accommodation that would have allowed the rifles back on the streets of New
York.
The United Nations agreed to transfer the weapons outside the United
States. It was not clear when the weapons were to be moved.
"We were told that the guns are headed to U.N. peacekeeping operations,"
said one U.S. diplomat.

U.N. building to lose submachine gun stash
http://washingtontimes.com/world/20030811-112153-1373r.htm

FLASHBACK
UN bodyguards face guns inquiry
THE bodyguards of Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general, are under
investigation by American officials for allegedly illegally importing and
possessing sub-machineguns used to protect him.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;$sessionid$LJYLYQYAAC3WHQFIQMGSFF4AVC
BQWIV0?xml=%2Fnews%2F2002%2F02%2F22%2Fwannan22.xml&_requestid=162927

Kofi's Kwips and Kwotes
In this regular feature we bust the bubble of U.N. Secretary General Kofi
Annan and his buddies by printing their comments on one side of the page and the
truth on the other. (Kofi and the truth are rarely on the same side, anyway.)
The U.N. claims to stand for human rights. In fact, their aim is to extend the
brutal standards of third world politics and third-world "justice" to the entire
world -- including the United States. U.N. institutions and policies would
replace our Bill of Rights with a version of "rights" that is far, far weaker in
its protection of the individual and far more favorable to the aims of
oppressive, socialistic governments.
http://www.jpfo.org/kofikwotes.htm