Parting Shots

The top American blows the whistle on U.N. fat and favors

DICK THORNBURGH, THE top-ranking American official in the U.N. Secretariat, wrapped up a year of service with a blast at the "deadwood, featherbedding, fraud and abuse" that permeate the world body. The departing Under Secretary- General for Management pulled no punches, charging that some vital agencies have become "patronage dumping grounds" and that the budgeting process is "almost surreal." Further angering Secretary-General Boutros Boutros- Ghali by going public with his mince-no-words report and then repeating his charges before a U.S. congressional committee, Thornburgh, a former Attorney General, warns that antireform forces are defeating efforts to make the U.N. more efficient. Computerization...

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