An independent panel accused the United Nations on Wednesday of major security failures that put hundreds of staffers at risk and caused unnecessary casualties when U.N. headquarters in Baghdad was bombed Aug. 19. It criticized U.N. officials for not requesting security from U.S.-led coalition forces. The panel’s report also cited widespread violations of U.N. security procedures, inadequate assessments of threats to the United Nations after the U.S.-led war in Iraq and immediately before the bombing, and a lax attitude by U.N. leaders and management to security issues. Still, the report stopped short of holding any individual accountable. “The failure of the U.N. system to comply with its own security regulations and directives left the organization and its staff and premises open and vulnerable to the type of attack that was perpetrated on Aug. 19, 2003,” the report said. Full Story