Not Making Nice
U.N.Secretary General Kofi Annan is one major figure the press won’t have to kick around anymore, to paraphrase Richard Nixon’s famous belligerent remarks after losing the CA gubernatorial election. While he has himself been cleared of charges, the fact that his son actively entered into shadey dealings in the oil for food program the U.N. misadministerd has left a blot on his record for many critics of the U.N. and its officials.
Held at the Truman Library last hour, the setting echoes the high regard Truman had for the universality of its representation. We are not going to hear anything from Mr. Annan that exactly would make members of this administration happy, either. At no point has the relationship between the C-I-C and Secretary General been especially good, but since John Bolton was sent as U.S. representative to the U.N., very little has been going well between them.
Recently, the humanitarian crisis which is forcing Iraqis to flee in large numbers to neighboring countries has produced a cry for steps to be taken which Washington has not shown much attention. Of course, the same crisis was anticipated by refugee agencies before the war was started, notably in June of 2002 in a paper produced by Gil Loescher of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, with similar lack of interest by our leaders. In November, the increasing high numbers of fleeing Iraqis proved that paper correct, as reported by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
Nearly 100,000 Iraqis are fleeing each month to Syria and Jordan, forcing the United Nations to set aside its goal of helping refugees return home after the U.S.-led invasion, officials said Friday.
Instead, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has drawn up plans to deal with the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who are desperate to escape the violence, chief spokesman Ron Redmond said.
"Much of our work in the three years since the fall of the previous regime was based on the assumption that the domestic situation would stabilize and hundreds of thousands of previously displaced Iraqis would be able to go home," Redmond said. "Now, however, we're seeing more and more displacement linked to the continuing violence."
It is hardly helpful to the U.N. in its mission to give peace and stability by providing a forum to international discussion that this country ignored it in its rush to the catastrophe the war on Iraq has become. That we are now not able to stanch the growing violence, and growing exodus from Iraq is another tragedy that we have no way to handle.
Like the Iraq Study Group, Mr. Annan is also asking the president to follow a sensible, peacemaking role, that will be of much better use to the world than the present bullheaded nonsense of keeping on with a policy that has not worked, and shows no sign of working in the future. I am equally certain that there will be commenters not at all pleased that the Secretary General is taking a parting shot at the person who’s made the peacemaking, and supportive role the U.N. should play impossible, who has done nothing to quell the wars we have named ‘genocide’ in Darfur, nothing to ensure the future health of the planet and its people, and only added more poverty and suffering at home and abroad. There will no doubt be reflections soon following that the criticism is ill-behaved. I am joining those who find it rude to kill, maim, and impoverish this country's people.
Slate today early excerpts from the speech, as follows.
Annan has never kept secret his dislike for several of Bush's policies, including the war in Iraq, but the speech is unusually tough, and, according to experts, unprecedented in the history of the United Nations. Annan will talk about the importance of "respect for human rights and the rule of law" and will warn that when the United States "appears to abandon its own ideals and objectives, its friends abroad are naturally troubled and confused." Referring to the war in Iraq, Annan will say the world only considers military action legitimate when "it is being used for the right purpose … in accordance with broadly accepted terms."
We can only hope that instead of his usual brutish ignorance, the representative of our country who is being sent this message will respond with wisdom, with positive action, and with well-considered policies. I can hear you out there in reality-based land laughing now. What are the odds?
Held at the Truman Library last hour, the setting echoes the high regard Truman had for the universality of its representation. We are not going to hear anything from Mr. Annan that exactly would make members of this administration happy, either. At no point has the relationship between the C-I-C and Secretary General been especially good, but since John Bolton was sent as U.S. representative to the U.N., very little has been going well between them.
Recently, the humanitarian crisis which is forcing Iraqis to flee in large numbers to neighboring countries has produced a cry for steps to be taken which Washington has not shown much attention. Of course, the same crisis was anticipated by refugee agencies before the war was started, notably in June of 2002 in a paper produced by Gil Loescher of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, with similar lack of interest by our leaders. In November, the increasing high numbers of fleeing Iraqis proved that paper correct, as reported by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
Nearly 100,000 Iraqis are fleeing each month to Syria and Jordan, forcing the United Nations to set aside its goal of helping refugees return home after the U.S.-led invasion, officials said Friday.
Instead, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has drawn up plans to deal with the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who are desperate to escape the violence, chief spokesman Ron Redmond said.
"Much of our work in the three years since the fall of the previous regime was based on the assumption that the domestic situation would stabilize and hundreds of thousands of previously displaced Iraqis would be able to go home," Redmond said. "Now, however, we're seeing more and more displacement linked to the continuing violence."
It is hardly helpful to the U.N. in its mission to give peace and stability by providing a forum to international discussion that this country ignored it in its rush to the catastrophe the war on Iraq has become. That we are now not able to stanch the growing violence, and growing exodus from Iraq is another tragedy that we have no way to handle.
Like the Iraq Study Group, Mr. Annan is also asking the president to follow a sensible, peacemaking role, that will be of much better use to the world than the present bullheaded nonsense of keeping on with a policy that has not worked, and shows no sign of working in the future. I am equally certain that there will be commenters not at all pleased that the Secretary General is taking a parting shot at the person who’s made the peacemaking, and supportive role the U.N. should play impossible, who has done nothing to quell the wars we have named ‘genocide’ in Darfur, nothing to ensure the future health of the planet and its people, and only added more poverty and suffering at home and abroad. There will no doubt be reflections soon following that the criticism is ill-behaved. I am joining those who find it rude to kill, maim, and impoverish this country's people.
Slate today early excerpts from the speech, as follows.
Annan has never kept secret his dislike for several of Bush's policies, including the war in Iraq, but the speech is unusually tough, and, according to experts, unprecedented in the history of the United Nations. Annan will talk about the importance of "respect for human rights and the rule of law" and will warn that when the United States "appears to abandon its own ideals and objectives, its friends abroad are naturally troubled and confused." Referring to the war in Iraq, Annan will say the world only considers military action legitimate when "it is being used for the right purpose … in accordance with broadly accepted terms."
We can only hope that instead of his usual brutish ignorance, the representative of our country who is being sent this message will respond with wisdom, with positive action, and with well-considered policies. I can hear you out there in reality-based land laughing now. What are the odds?
Labels: Cut and Run; U.N.
posted by Ruth at 10:27 AM
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