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| Iraq |
| Let’s Get Internationally Legitimized (Too Legit to Quit, as they say) |
| 2003-09-09 |
| U.N. Chief Trying to Get Nations to Agree on Iraq Plan only the good parts Secretary-General Kofi Annan launched a high-level diplomatic offensive Monday to get feuding nations to unite behind a plan to stabilize Iraq and said the United Nations is prepared to play a major political role to quickly restore its sovereignty. The Security Council is starting to debate a U.S.-proposed draft resolution to get more peacekeeping troops and money into Iraq, but it faces tough opposition led by France and Germany. It would authorize a multinational force to replace the current U.S.-led force, but the United States would command the force and continue to run the civilian administration. But China’s U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya said there is a consensus among council members that the United Nations should be given "a vital role in the area of political and economic reconstruction." France has said it would like to see the United Nations take over the administration of Iraq from the United States. China’s Wang said he believes this is "the common position of most of the members -- but it’s up to whether the United States is ready. I think the shorter the transition the better." The secretary-general said economic issues including control of Iraq’s oil production and oil revenue, and responsibility for awarding contracts and privatizing the oil industry are also "very much part of the discussions which are going on at the moment." I know this is tired news but it’s so CUTE. All of the countries involved have indicated they can’t/won’t send troops or contribute money. They can only offer us the warm fuzzy feeling of international legitimacy, and expertise in bureaucratic inaction. But they don’t hesitate to hold their hands out. |
| Posted by:eyeyeye |
| #11 How do you say "it's all about the oil!" in French? |
| Posted by: Baba Yaga 2003-9-9 10:37:31 PM |
| #10 Super, but Turkey, Pakistan, India, et al, will send about as many troops as Denmark, if at all. And if Wimpy shells out 2 billion, super-duper, but it's a drop in the bucket. We're shelling over a hundred. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-9-9 3:56:12 PM |
| #9 Oh, it's a very good idea, Hiryu. If we do get Turkish, Pakistani, and Indian troops on the groound, then the 'Resistance' will start attacking them. Killing fellow muslims, the Religion of Peace proves it's worth again. |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-9-9 2:37:21 PM |
| #8 This has got to stop being treated as "news" as it is mere claptrap. The UN is not the "legitimizer" of anything as it is comprised of every swinging dick that calls itself a nation on the face of the Earth... and that includes all of the thuggy bastards and corrupt shitheads and dic To paraphrase the classic parody, Deteriorata, "The UN is a fluke of the Universe, and whether it can hear it or not, the Universe is laughing behind its back." |
| Posted by: .com (a.k.a. Abu This!) 2003-9-9 2:33:39 PM |
| #7 If there is any point to this, it's in providing the fig leaf needed to get Turkish, Pakistani, and Indian boots on the ground. Whether that is a really good idea is another question. |
| Posted by: Hiryu 2003-9-9 2:27:33 PM |
| #6 Good news: Many countries have responded to President's request for help: Denmark said on Tuesday it would send an extra 90 soldiers to Iraq by the end of October to join 410 others near Basra. Romania, which has 687 peacekeepers in Iraq, said it was considering sending 56 more. |
| Posted by: . 2003-9-9 1:54:29 PM |
| #5 Wanna screw things up royally? Get the UN involved. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-9-9 1:25:11 PM |
| #4 Oh boy, an excuse to shamelessly plug my anti-UN page: http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/un.html Dunno when I'll get another chance to mention it. |
| Posted by: marlowe 2003-9-9 12:24:52 PM |
| #3 Matt... good quote from Wimpy -- very appropriate in this context. |
| Posted by: snellenr 2003-9-9 12:19:44 PM |
| #2 "We will gladly provide you with $2B in aid to Iraq tomorrow in exchange for $20B in contracts today." |
| Posted by: Matt 2003-9-9 10:58:18 AM |
| #1 The secretary-general said economic issues including control of Iraq’s oil production and oil revenue, and responsibility for awarding contracts and privatizing the oil industry are also "very much part of the discussions which are going on at the moment." They're in it for the oil. Surprise, surprise. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2003-9-9 10:45:34 AM |