The United Nations, which has tended to recruit U.S. officials with Democratic links, is working harder to attract Republicans. Annan recently appointed Bush's former secretary of agriculture, Ann M. Veneman, as executive director of the U.N. Children's Fund.
Some U.N. envoys believe that Annan is appeasing his political enemies to ensure his own political survival in advance of a potentially damaging report on the allegations of influence-peddling by his son, Kojo. Others have voiced concern that the United Nations is capitulating to congressional pressure.
Peter Hansen, head of the United Nations' Palestinian refugee operations, said the perception that the United Nations is bowing to U.S. pressure "is going to grate on many." Hansen, who has been asked by Annan to step down next month, voiced concern that the United Nations may "set aside" its core values to accommodate conservative congressional leaders. "I think that there will be a great deal of resentment if that perception is correct," he said.
Hansen suggested that his departure is the result of his having antagonized congressional supporters of Israel. "There have been a group, and a fairly sizable one, in the U.S. Congress who have felt that Israel should never be held up to criticism," Hansen said in a telephone interview from Gaza.
The crisis in relations is rooted in the U.N. refusal to support the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Relations improved after the United Nations began to support the U.S.-backed political transition in that country, but the organization's standing in Washington suffered amid reports of mismanagement and corruption in the oil-for-food program.
The U.N. leadership initially dismissed the attacks as politically motivated. But revelations of impropriety and potential conflicts of interest began to damage Annan's reputation, U.N. officials said.
Richard C. Holbrooke, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, invited Annan to a private meeting in December with supporters of the organization. They advised Annan that more sweeping changes were needed.
"There was a genuine concern that this thing was close to getting pushed over the cliff," said former Annan aide John Ruggie. "The recognition set in that you actually have more than a communications problem. You can't resolve structural problems through better communications. You have to restructure."
