Attack was wake-up call, says Robinson

MARY ROBINSON, Mr de Mello’s predecessor at the UN, said she was “very shocked and devastated” by the attack.

The former Irish President said: “It is a huge blow but curiously I think it may bring home the need for a broader and more rounded UN mandate on the ground and more countries involved.

“It is extraordinarily important that Iraq does not descend into a situation of complete lack of security and a worse situation for the civilian population of Iraq.

“This may be a sort of wake-up call for the world that the situation wasn’t really very tenable before this terrible outrage.

“It is the worst attack on the UN that I can ever remember,” she said.

“It is an appalling blow and the world must rally not just the coalition, the occupation forces that are in Iraq at the moment, the United States, Britain and others.

“But also France, Germany, India, Brazil, South Africa all the countries of the world must now respond, I think appropriately.”

Mrs Robinson said increased internationalisation in Iraq was the “absolute lesson” of the attack. “It cannot be learned quickly enough,” she said.