Who Killed de Mello?

In Episode 9 I ask the crucial question cui bono from de Mello's death? (Who benefitted?) —Where did the truck come from? —How did the US know of Mr. de Mello’s plan to condemn the US Military's killing of Iraqi civilians in a press conference scheduled for the night he died? —Why was the US Army 411th Battalion for Civil Affairs inside the UN complex? Books referenced for this episode are: Chasing the Flames, by Samantha Power My Year in Iraq, by Paul Bremer

In Episode 8 I cover —The errors in the death certificate issued by the US Military; —The strange saga of the US serviceman who “helped” Mr. de Mello while he was trapped—and a year later was stopped by airport control with the “trophy” of Saddam’s Mercedes Benz. —The corrupt team of US pathologists who failed to perform an autopsy on Mr. de Mello’s body. This led the de Mello family to request the exhumation of his body since the cause of death wasn’t clear per the death certificate. Books referenced in this episode are: Oath Betrayed, by Dr. Steve Milles Chasing the Flame, by Samantha Power From Jailor to Jailed, by Bernie Kerik.

On this episode, we will go through the details of Mr. de Mello's final hours. You'd find on this episode, Paul Bremer's press conference, the US envoy to Iraq. At the scene of the bombing, Bernard Kerik was there, so was the FBI team led by Thomas Fuentes. Please note these seventh episodes were recorded from Dec 2019 through early March 2020, will resume recording as soon as the Covid-19 lock down is over.

Before I can tell you who killed de Mello, I must honor the other victims murdered on that "Black Tuesday." This episode is about 22 victims--7 United Nations' workers, and 15 guests and contractors. Who killed Nadia Younes? Who killed Christopher Kelin Beekman? Who killed Fiona Watson? Who killed Richard Hooper? Who killed Jean-Sélime Kanaan? Who killed Manuel Martin -Oar? Who killed Emad Salman al-Jeboory? Who killed Omar Kahtan al-Orfali? Who killed Arthur Helton? Who killed Gillian Clark? Who killed Ra’ad Shaker al -Mahdawi? Who killed Basim Mahmoud Atawi? Who killed Dr. Alya Ahmad Sousa? Who killed Ranillo Buenavantura? Who killed Reza Husseini? Who killed Reham Alfarra? Who killed Matha Teas? Who killed Leen al-Qadi? Who killed Ihsan Taha Hussein? Who killed Khadir Salim Tahir? Who killed Sa’ad Hurmiz Abona? Who killed Sérgio Vieira de Mello? The list of the killed was only released days later. Hundreds were injured--how many of them died in the ensuing days?

Episode 5 urges once again the importance of Location Location Location As in the Scene of the Crime: So, a brief history of the complex where it occurred. The Canal Hotel, a three-story building located on the east side of Baghdad near the Army Canal, was converted into a UN Headquarters in 1990. The US Army was housed in the same compound--namely, the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion, an Army Reserve unit from Danbury, Connecticut.