Outgoing UN Secretary General Kofi Annan plans to use his last speech to "blast" President Bush and American policies in the terror war, according to USA Today.
In a farewell speech on U.S. soil today, retiring United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan plans to deliver a tough critique of President Bush's policies. He will accuse the administration of trying to secure the United States from terrorism in part by dominating other nations through force, committing what he termed human rights abuses and taking military action without broad international support.Though Annan has long been a critic of the war in Iraq and other Bush foreign policies, the planned speech is among his toughest and is unusual for a U.N. secretary-general concluding his tenure.
I think he's making a mistake here. Why spend your time repeating things you've already said when you could take one final opportunity to get your son a new car?
In one incident, the report reveals, Kojo Annan bought a Mercedes limousine using his father's name, which yielded him a 15 percent diplomatic discount and enabled him to import the vehicle to Ghana without paying import duty. In all, he saved $20,644, the committee said.
The oil-for-food program scandal has deeply undermined the reputation of Mr. Annan, once thought of as the most outstanding secretary general since Dag Hammarskjold, and brought calls from Republican lawmakers in Washington for his resignation. Mr. Annan's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said Tuesday that the secretary general intended to fill out his term, which runs until the end of 2006.
It would be delightfully appropriate if Mr. Annan used the phrases "They won't have Kofi Annan to kick around anymore" and "I am not a crook" in the speech.
12/11/06 0915: Well, USA Today fooled us again, possibly. I may have to change this post's title. The Washington Post prints a farewell column from Kofi Annan, based on the speech he intends to give today. It is much more diplomatic and less anti-American than advertised, unless of course you like to read between the lines. Of course, there is still naive idealism, without which it wouldn't be the UN speaking.
First, in today's world we are all responsible for each other's security. Against such threats as nuclear proliferation, climate change, global pandemics or terrorists operating from safe havens in failed states, no nation can make itself secure by seeking supremacy over all others.
There is a difference between "seeking supremacy" and "taking the lead." Someone has to be the first to charge out of the trenches, and traditionally it has been America that has been most willing to do it.
Second, we are also responsible for each other's welfare. Without a measure of solidarity, no society can be truly stable. It is not realistic to think that some people can go on deriving great benefits from globalization while billions of others are left in, or thrown into, abject poverty.
Therein lies a profound misunderstanding of the principles of capitalism. "A rising tide lifts all boats" is not predicated on equal gains for all boats, but rather that all boats will slowly rise even if some rise faster and higher than others.
Third, both security and prosperity depend on respect for human rights and the rule of law.
Perhaps the UN workers in the Congo and your own assistant, Benon Sevan, should have been advised of these items.
My fourth lesson, therefore, is that governments must be accountable for their actions, in the international as well as the domestic arena.
The most notable organization that appears to not be accountable is Mr. Annan's own UN, which is the reason that John Bolton was necessary, a lesson lost on Senators Joe Biden and Lincoln Chafee.
No less important, all the Security Council's members must accept the responsibility that comes with their privilege. The council is not a stage for acting out national interests.
Which makes me wonder, is Mr. Annan going to travel and deliver this speech in France, Russia, and China?
12/11/06 1000: Piling on from Captain Ed:
Accountability? Accountability? This comes from the man who presided over the biggest fraud in history, the Oil-For-Food Program. His son and his cronies dipped their beaks in a program that put billions of dollars into the pockets of Saddam Hussein and spread corruption throughout the world, all the while with Annan scolding the US and the UK for their efforts to bring accountability to Saddam. After the exposure of the OFF scandal, Annan spent his time ducking any accountability at all for the debacle.
