A debate is simmering within the United Nations about whether efforts to minimize risks for staffers are jeopardizing the organization’s credibility. On Wednesday, staff union representatives released a letter to Secretary General Kofi Annan urging that no more staffers be sent to Iraq and that the 32 people recently deployed there to help prepare for January elections be withdrawn as soon as possible. “Last year, we witnessed the tragic death of 22 colleagues in Baghdad. We do not wish to witness the same again,” said the letter from two unions representing 60,000 UN employees. Full Story