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Va. Man Is Cited As Example; Hiring Process Criticized
James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 28, 2002; Page A01
The United Nations launched perhaps its most important weapons inspections ever yesterday with a team that includes a 53-year-old Virginia man with no specialized scientific degree and a leadership role in sadomasochistic sex clubs.
The United Nations acknowledged yesterday 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. McGeorge was picked for the diplomatically sensitive mission over some of the most experienced disarmament sleuths in the world. 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 former inspectors, who worked for the United Nations Special Commission created after the Persian Gulf War, say the new inspectors have been selected in part to avoid offending Iraq. These critics say that Hans Blix, the executive chairman of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), is bypassing some experienced inspectors because they were opposed by Iraq as too aggressive in the earlier inspections.
Former inspectors also 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. The former inspectors also say the current inspection team lacks the size, mobility and equipment to do its job adequately, and that the new U.N. policy of not sharing information with intelligence agencies could further handicap the team's ability to find weapons sites.
U.N. officials defended their team of inspectors, saying that they are highly qualified and among the best in the field. But they acknowledged that they conducted no background checks.
"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 $595 a session. Since 1983, he has been president of his own firm, Public Safety Group Inc., which sells bioterror products to governments. One online ad promotes his role as a "certified United Nations Weapons inspector."
McGeorge does not possess a degree in one 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.
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.
Half 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.
"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 said. "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.
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.
One of his most cited achievements is preparing, under contract with the federal government, a compendium of incidents involving biological and chemical agents dating back to the 1940s.
Past weapons inspectors have criticized the selection of inspectors, saying experienced candidates, including former missile inspector Timothy V. McCarthy, were passed over. The critics say the new team needs seasoning if it is to find minute evidence of weapons-making in a country the size of Texas.
"We just knew too much," said Richard Spertzel, former head of the biological weapons inspection team for the U.N. Special Commission on Iraq. "They couldn't pull the wool over our eyes."
The two renowned experts retained, Igor Mitrokhin and Nikita Smidovich, will not be conducting field inspections.
Mitrokhin, a respected Russian chemical weapons expert, has been named the chief of the agency's health and safety division. Smidovich, a Russian missile expert whose encyclopedic knowledge of Iraq's missile program has long made him unpopular in Iraq, has been appointed head of inspector training.
Smidovich said during a break at recent training session that although there is a "new culture" at UNMOVIC, the agency still has "very tough inspectors." He said that the less experienced inspectors can learn everything they need to know from a massive archive that includes a recording of virtually every meeting with the Iraqis. "We have it all on tape," he said.
Blix defended the abilities of the new inspectors, saying that his chief inspector, Demetrius Perricos, "probably has the greatest experience in the world."
"He has 30 years of inspections behind him," he added. "He handled the whole North Korea business in the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency]; he was in Iraq in the beginning of the '90s; he was in South Africa and handled the verification of the disarming of their nuclear weapons."
A U.N. Security Council diplomat said that Washington wants to increase the number of inspections and double the size of the inspection team's roster, which now consists of 300 people. The Bush administration has been pressing UNMOVIC to move up the date of the next scheduled training session from January to December. One council official said that Blix was likely to begin "a sort of worldwide trawl" for new inspectors.
Another council diplomat acknowledged the new inspection agency lacks the experience of its predecessor and that it will take time to reach full speed. "A lot of the inspectors are inexperienced, and it's a matter of not trying to push UNMOVIC to run before it can walk," said a council member.
Former inspectors also were concerned about reports that members of the current UNMOVIC team work in the private sector and might have products to sell. A stint on a U.N. inspections team can boost an inspector's profile, bringing media attention and lucrative business opportunities, as some of the former inspectors found.
One current inspector works for a company developing a sensor to detect biological substances, such as anthrax spores.
"I don't know of any technology out there for biology that you could wave over and say this is a bad building," said former inspector and biological warfare expert David Franz.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48596-2002Nov27.htmlBy
James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 28, 2002; Page A01
The United Nations launched perhaps its most important weapons inspections ever yesterday with a team that includes a 53-year-old Virginia man with no specialized scientific degree and a leadership role in sadomasochistic sex clubs.
The United Nations acknowledged yesterday 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. McGeorge was picked for the diplomatically sensitive mission over some of the most experienced disarmament sleuths in the world. 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 former inspectors, who worked for the United Nations Special Commission created after the Persian Gulf War, say the new inspectors have been selected in part to avoid offending Iraq. These critics say that Hans Blix, the executive chairman of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), is bypassing some experienced inspectors because they were opposed by Iraq as too aggressive in the earlier inspections.
Former inspectors also 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. The former inspectors also say the current inspection team lacks the size, mobility and equipment to do its job adequately, and that the new U.N. policy of not sharing information with intelligence agencies could further handicap the team's ability to find weapons sites.
U.N. officials defended their team of inspectors, saying that they are highly qualified and among the best in the field. But they acknowledged that they conducted no background checks.
"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 $595 a session. Since 1983, he has been president of his own firm, Public Safety Group Inc., which sells bioterror products to governments. One online ad promotes his role as a "certified United Nations Weapons inspector."
McGeorge does not possess a degree in one 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.
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.
Half 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.
"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 said. "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.
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.
One of his most cited achievements is preparing, under contract with the federal government, a compendium of incidents involving biological and chemical agents dating back to the 1940s.
Past weapons inspectors have criticized the selection of inspectors, saying experienced candidates, including former missile inspector Timothy V. McCarthy, were passed over. The critics say the new team needs seasoning if it is to find minute evidence of weapons-making in a country the size of Texas.
"We just knew too much," said Richard Spertzel, former head of the biological weapons inspection team for the U.N. Special Commission on Iraq. "They couldn't pull the wool over our eyes."
The two renowned experts retained, Igor Mitrokhin and Nikita Smidovich, will not be conducting field inspections.
Mitrokhin, a respected Russian chemical weapons expert, has been named the chief of the agency's health and safety division. Smidovich, a Russian missile expert whose encyclopedic knowledge of Iraq's missile program has long made him unpopular in Iraq, has been appointed head of inspector training.
Smidovich said during a break at recent training session that although there is a "new culture" at UNMOVIC, the agency still has "very tough inspectors." He said that the less experienced inspectors can learn everything they need to know from a massive archive that includes a recording of virtually every meeting with the Iraqis. "We have it all on tape," he said.
Blix defended the abilities of the new inspectors, saying that his chief inspector, Demetrius Perricos, "probably has the greatest experience in the world."
"He has 30 years of inspections behind him," he added. "He handled the whole North Korea business in the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency]; he was in Iraq in the beginning of the '90s; he was in South Africa and handled the verification of the disarming of their nuclear weapons."
A U.N. Security Council diplomat said that Washington wants to increase the number of inspections and double the size of the inspection team's roster, which now consists of 300 people. The Bush administration has been pressing UNMOVIC to move up the date of the next scheduled training session from January to December. One council official said that Blix was likely to begin "a sort of worldwide trawl" for new inspectors.
Another council diplomat acknowledged the new inspection agency lacks the experience of its predecessor and that it will take time to reach full speed. "A lot of the inspectors are inexperienced, and it's a matter of not trying to push UNMOVIC to run before it can walk," said a council member.
Former inspectors also were concerned about reports that members of the current UNMOVIC team work in the private sector and might have products to sell. A stint on a U.N. inspections team can boost an inspector's profile, bringing media attention and lucrative business opportunities, as some of the former inspectors found.
One current inspector works for a company developing a sensor to detect biological substances, such as anthrax spores.
"I don't know of any technology out there for biology that you could wave over and say this is a bad building," said former inspector and biological warfare expert David Franz.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48596-2002Nov27.htmlBy
