Iraqi Disaster Turns UN Into Community of Mourners

In tears, devastated U.N. staff gathered around television sets in hallways on Tuesday, asking for news of colleagues, stunned that the United Nations itself was the target of an unprecedented suicide attack in Baghdad.

And everyone knew Sergio Vieira de Mello, the head of the U.N. operation in Iraq, whose name led the list of dead. As one of the world's most experienced diplomats, he was a probable candidate for secretary-general, a rising star and beloved figure who had headed several dangerous missions.

"I can think of no one we could less afford to spare, or who would be more acutely missed throughout the U.N. system," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said.

One staff member put it more bluntly, mumbling: "We send our best guy to Iraq and he comes home in a box."