Mohammed A. Aldouri
Encyclopedia
Mohammed A. Aldouri (born 1942) was the Permanent Representative of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
from 2001 to 2003.
Born in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, Aldouri attended Baghdad University and earned a bachelors degree in law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
in 1964. In 1973, Aldouri received a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in public law
Public law
Public law is a theory of law governing the relationship between individuals and the state. Under this theory, constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law are sub-divisions of public law...
from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
’s Dijon University. He was Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the Law College of Baghdad University from 1983 to 1998, while simultaneously serving as a professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
.
Aldouri was a member of the Iraqi delegation
Delegation
Delegation is the assignment of authority and responsibility to another person to carry out specific activities. However the person who delegated the work remains accountable for the outcome of the delegated work. Delegation empowers a subordinate to make decisions, i.e...
to the United Nations from 1980 to 1984. From 1994 to 1996, Aldouri was head of the Legal Department and Human Rights Department of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry. He served as Iraq’s Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
from 1999 up until his appointment as Iraq’s Ambassador to the United Nations in February 2001. Prior to and during the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, Aldouri gained international attention for his harsh criticisms of the U.S. and vigorous defenses of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
’s regime
Regime
The word regime refers to a set of conditions, most often of a political nature.-Politics:...
. On April 9, 2003, Aldouri became the first high-ranking Iraqi official to admit that Hussein’s government had collapsed. On April 11, Aldouri resigned as Ambassador to the UN and left the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Since resigning, Aldouri has called Saddam Hussein a “tyrant” and apologized for some of the “tough” remarks he had made about the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
while ambassadorhttp://www.cnn.com/2003/US/04/11/sprj.irq.aldouri.un/index.htmlhttp://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/08/11/cnna.aldouri.wolf/index.html. However, Aldouri has also become a major critic of the U.S. presence in Iraq and has called for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country. Aldouri currently resides in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
.http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0603/08/sitroom.03.html
In a television interview that aired September 22, 2010 on Decision Makers TV, Al-Douri openly speculated about the possibility that the United States may have been complicit in the events of 9/11. Al-Douri asserted, "The tyranny of the U.S., and its goals in ruling the world and taking over the entire world -- from north to south and from east to west -- were, in my opinion, the indirect cause of the events of 9/11, if not the direct cause." Al-Douri claimed that many people "have doubted the ability of Al-Qaeda to carry out such a momentous, earth-shattering event." He said, "Many people claim that the U.S. intelligence -- or at least part of the Pentagon -- was behind 9/11. But only God knows."