ABSTRACT
It was a sultry Saturday afternoon, and Boutros Boutros-Ghali was enjoying a rare lunch of relaxation in the garden of his exquisite townhouse overlooking the East River. It looked serene, but it wasn’t. Indeed, if “frustration” could have another name these days, that name would be “Boutros.” In several hours of intense conversation—with some humorous moments—the UN secretary-general showed clearly the main current of his thinking. Indeed, he returned again and again to one point. The secretary-general delineated his idea about “wars of the rich” and “wars of the poor,” which doubtless comes from his earlier diplomatic work for Egypt, particularly in now largely forgotten Africa. “In Bosnia, despite the suffering, people outside are paying attention. But there are also the ‘orphan nations’ in the war, in the ‘poor wars’ which do not attract the attention of the international community.
