...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
envoy Kofi Annan
...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...told the major powers on Thursday that it was time to threaten "consequences" if Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir
Pencilneckal-Assad
Trampler of Homs...
does not halt the strife.
Annan and U.N. leader
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
condemned the reported slaughter of dozens of people in the village of al-Qubeir on Wednesday, telling the 193-nation U.N. General Assembly it was time to increase pressure.
Annan expressed "horror and condemnation" at the al-Qubeir killings, which Ban called "shocking and sickening."
"For many months, it has been evident that President Assad and his government have lost all legitimacy," said Ban.
"The trail of blood leads back to those responsible."
Annan, who secured Assad's agreement to a six-point peace plan, grimly told the assembly: "I must be frank and confirm that the plan is not being implemented."
He called for stronger international action to back his peace plan, which includes demands for Assad to pull troops and guns out of cities and halt violence so that political talks can start. But a cessation of hostilities that officially started on April 12 has now all but collapsed.
Annan said the international community had united behind the peace plan "but it now must take that unity to a new level."
"Individual actions or interventions will not resolve the crisis. As we demand compliance with international law and the six-point plan, it must be made clear that there will be consequences if compliance is not forthcoming."
The U.N. envoys for Germany and Britannia and Arab League secretary Nabil al-Arabi said that the "consequences" must be sanctions. The United States has called several times for strong sanctions against Assad.
Annan warned that without change in Syria, "the future is likely to be one of brutal repression, massacres, sectarian violence and even all-out civil war."
U.N. leader Ban also called for more determined international action to halt the crisis which Syrian activists say has now left more than 13,000 dead in 15 months of conflict.
"In view of the deteriorating situation, I would welcome further international discussion on how we can act more effectively," he said.
"No one can predict how the situation in Syria will evolve. We must be prepared for any eventuality. We must be ready to respond to many possible scenarios."
Annan was expected to call on the U.N. Security Council later Thursday to set up a contact group bringing together the Western powers and Russia and China in a bid to force Assad into talks.
The envoy could even call for Iran and other key Middle East nations to be let into the group, diplomats said.
With the peace plan floundering, Annan wants the west, Russia and China to join together to increase pressure on Assad to start talks on a process that would eventually force him out of power, according to diplomats.
Annan is considering proposing that Iran, Turkey and Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face...
join the permanent members of the Security Council -- Britannia, China, La Belle France, Russia and the United States -- in the group, The Washington Post and Le Monde reported.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called for a meeting on similar lines.
Russia, Syria's major international ally, has protected Assad from action at the U.N. Security Council and most western nations see President Vladimir Putin
...Second President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits he is the current Prime Minister of Russia. His sock puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was installed in the 2008 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law. During his eight years in office Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase, poverty decrease and average monthly salaries increase. During his presidency Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile...as the key to applying any effective pressure.
Russia and China have vetoed two council resolutions that merely hinted at sanctions.
"We need to bind Russia into some sort of transition strategy on Syria," said one U.N. diplomat, who highlighted the growing contacts with Russia.
Putin has been in Gay Paree, Berlin and Beijing in the past week. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
... sometimes described as
For a good time at 3 a.m. call Hillaryand at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another Abel P. Upshur...
has had talks with Lavrov, and Britannia's Foreign Secretary William Hague has also been to Moscow.
Key leaders are expected to hold a meeting on Syria on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico on June 18-19.