US Diplomatic Might Irks Nations ; A Senior UN Chief Who Policed the Chemical Weapons Ban Was Voted out Monday Night

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The United States scored an unprecedented diplomatic coup here on Monday evening, ousting the head of the organization policing an international chemical weapons ban who had tried to bring Iraq into the group.

It marked the first time that the director general of a United Nations agency had been fired in midterm. His removal, following the dismissal of a UN scientist last week who disagreed with the US position on global warming, is prompting concern among some countries about the way Washington is able to influence the fate of international officials who fall foul of its policies.

Jose Bustani, the Brazilian head of the Organization for the Prevention of …