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Founder of Sadomasochistic Sex Clubs Among U.N. Inspectors: Paper
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| Harvey John “Jack” McGeorge |
WASHINGTON,
November 28 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The United Nations
launched its weapons inspections in Iraq with a team that includes
“a 53-year-old Virginia man with no specialized scientific degree
and a leadership role in sadomasochistic sex clubs”, a U.S. daily
reported Thursday, November 28.
The
United Nations acknowledged Wednesday, November 27, that it did not
conduct a background check on Harvey John “Jack” McGeorge of
Woodbridge, who was in New York waiting to be sent to Iraq as a
munitions analyst, the Washington Post said.
McGeorge
was chosen for the diplomatically sensitive mission over some of the
most experienced disarmament sleuths in the world, the paper reported.
A U.N. spokesman said McGeorge was part of a group recommended by the
State Department, which in turn said it was merely forwarding names
for consideration.
The
disclosures about McGeorge’s qualifications come as concerns are
being raised among some former U.N. weapons inspectors that the
current team lacks experience, the Post said.
The
former inspectors, who worked for the United Nations Special
Commission created after the Persian Gulf War, say the new inspectors
were selected in part to avoid offending Iraq.
According
to the paper, former inspectors say that rules requiring applicants to
quit their government jobs meant that some of the best-qualified
experts did not apply, leaving many positions to be filled by
applicants, such as McGeorge, from the private sector.
U.N.
officials defended their team of inspectors, saying that they are
highly qualified and among the best in the field. But they also
acknowledged that they conducted no background checks, the Post
reported.
“As
the United Nations, with people applying from many countries, we do
not have the capability to do that,” said Ewen Buchanan, a spokesman
for UNMOVIC. “How would you check?”
McGeorge
is a former Marine and Secret Service specialist who offers seminars
on “weaponization of chemical and biological agents” for U.S.$595
a session. Since 1983, he has been president of his own firm, Public
Safety Group Inc., which sells bio-terror products to governments, the
paper said.
One
online advertisement promotes his role as a “certified United
Nations Weapons inspector.”
McGeorge
does not possess a degree in any of the specialized fields - such as
biochemistry, bacteriology or chemical engineering - that the United
Nations says it seeks in its inspectors. U.S. and U.N. officials said
a background check apparently was not conducted on McGeorge or any of
the inspector applicants, the paper said.
An
internet search of open web sites conducted by the Washington Post
found that McGeorge is the co-founder and past president of Black
Rose, a Washington-area pansexual S&M group, and the former
chairman of the board of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom.
He
is also a founding officer of the Leather Leadership Conference Inc.,
which “produces training sessions for current and potential leaders
of the sadomasochism/leather/fetish community,” according to its web
site. Several web sites describe McGeorge’s training seminars, which
involve various acts conducted with knives and ropes.
McGeorge
said yesterday that a State Department official invited him to apply
for the U.N. team, and officials at State and the United Nations did
not ask about his S&M background. But he said he would tender his
resignation to Blix if the Post printed a story about it.
“I
have been very upfront with people in the past about what I do, and it
has never prevented me from getting a job or doing service,”
McGeorge said. “I am who I am. I am not ashamed of who I am - not
one bit. But I cannot allow my actions, as they may be perceived by
others, to damage an organization which has done nothing to deserve
that damage.”
A
State Department official said that the Bureau of Nonproliferation
collected résumés from potential UNMOVIC candidates and then passed
along, without recommendation, those who appeared to meet the general
criteria of the jobs. However, the official said he believes that
background checks were not conducted before the résumés were
forwarded, the paper said.
Fifty
of the 100 inspectors picked so far were recommended by governments,
and the other half applied directly to the United Nations. Buchanan
added that the United Nations considers McGeorge’s private life
irrelevant to his role as a munitions analyst, the paper reported.
“I
believe that Mr. McGeorge is technically very competent,” Buchanan
said. “He knows his subject, which is weapons. As a general
principle, I think what people do in their private life, as long as it
doesn’t interfere with [their] professional life - and I’m not
aware that it has interfered - or doesn’t break any rules or laws,
shouldn’t be a significant issue.”
Interviewed
by telephone, McGeorge defended his training and experience. “I was
a military ordnance explosive disposal specialist,” McGeorge told
the Washington Post. “I was very well trained on chemical and
biological agents.”
McGeorge’s
résumé indicates that he trained as an inspector with UNMOVIC in
February 2001 in Vienna. He said he was interviewed in person by Blix
and joined the team as a temporary staff member in December 2001.
McGeorge’s
professional background reveals he served for a few years each as a
Marine ordnance disposal technician and a munitions countermeasures
specialist with the Secret Service, both stints occurring more than 20
years ago, the Post reported.
On
his résumé, McGeorge lists an honorary doctorate from a Russian
institute in Moscow.
McGeorge
received an associate’s degree in security management from Northern
Virginia Community College in 1983. He also lists numerous articles on
chemical and biological weapons in such publications as Defense and
Foreign Affairs and NBC Defense & Technology International, the
Post said.
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