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| Bush holds out olive branch to UN |
| 2007-09-26 |
| President George Bush announced what amounted to a U-turn in his administration's previous hostility towards the United Nations yesterday, using his speech to the General Assembly to pledge a new spirit of co-operation. The president, who once boasted that the US was strong enough to go it alone, said: "The US is committed to a strong and vibrant United Nations." Yesterday Mr Bush was adamant that the US needed the UN, and that the UN could make a difference, highlighting the importance of its Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "The standards of this declaration must guide our work in this world," he announced to wide applause. "The best way to defeat extremists is to defeat their dark ideology with a more hopeful vision, a vision of liberty." This will come as music to the ears of UN officials who had resigned themselves to being marginalised by US distrust of multilateralism as a way of solving the world's problems. Mr Bush said that, while critical of the UN's Human Rights Council, which he accused of pandering to dictatorships, he would support an effort for reform to give it more power to check abuses. His speech came amid a dramatically different policy already evident regarding international justice. Although refusing to join the International Criminal Court, the US has dropped its threat of economic penalties against states joining the organisation, and has supported the court's indictments against Sudanese officials charged with genocide in Darfur. "It's [the White House] taking a much more positive stance on justice," said Sara Darehshori of New York-based Human Rights Watch. "Definitely a softening of its attitude." This new attitude also saw Mr Bush support the idea of enlarging the number of permanent members on the Security Council with the inclusion of Japan, saying it would then work more effectively. The pledge will be taken as encouragement by other members hoping to win permanent seats, notably Brazil, Germany and India. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #12 We say "Rubber Mallet and Anvil" same idea. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-09-26 19:45 |
| #11 Wanna bet, rj? Give the UN a feather and an anvil and they'll have the anvil beat down to nuthin lickity-split. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2007-09-26 19:22 |
| #10 My guess is Bush is hoping to get UN peacekeepers back into Iraq before his administration is over. By then the Iraqi's should mostly control their own country and the UN couldn't do to much damage. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2007-09-26 18:20 |
| #9 Obviously the position of 'Official White House Kool Aid Taste Tester' is open; why else would GW be schmoozing with the wicked witch of the west and sucking up to the UN. Somebody has doctored his Ovaltine. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2007-09-26 14:14 |
| #8 ONU delenda est. |
| Posted by: JFM 2007-09-26 12:12 |
| #7 I was hoping the subnead would be ...and whacks UN on nose with it |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2007-09-26 11:23 |
| #6 what wxjames said. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2007-09-26 11:18 |
| #5 "Never crow when you're holding four aces." |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-09-26 10:49 |
| #4 The UN is corrupt and will never become anything other. UN out of US, US out of UN. Bush out of his mind. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2007-09-26 10:43 |
| #3 1. It's the Scotsman. Just like the Guardian, only stuffed in a sheep's stomach. 2. There's a saying: 'Be gracious toward your enemies. It confuses them.' |
| Posted by: Pappy 2007-09-26 10:25 |
| #2 the US needed the UN, and that the UN could make a difference This sucks. F*ck the UN and the horse they rode in on. Sounds like the bastards ground him down. This will come as No doubt they're licking their chops already. "The gravy train roars on!" |
| Posted by: Spot 2007-09-26 08:20 |
| #1 Interesting..."W" lately has been tiptoeing through the Tulips with the UN, China, The hesitancy of the Norks, the olive branch gently waiving to the Iranians (almost no condemnation of the regime at the UN, A lukewarm response to 'NutJob's desire to lament 'Ground Zero' [coming from the man who stood atop the smoldering pile with that bullhorn??])! What's up??? Either the Bush administration has taken it's medicine and now appear ready to buy tickets on the Hillary Express or there's subterfuge going on in the dark halls of the Pentagon. Are we now witnessing the classic 'walk softly and carrying a big stick' maneuver? Why is "W" so worried about how firmly entrenched the Clinton camp is with their 1 year out pre-election rhetoric? Could it be he knows exactly 'when' the countdown to war will be and the Democrats will have to clean up the mess! Enquiring minds want to know. |
| Posted by: smn 2007-09-26 00:56 |