Article

2005-01-03 International-UN-NGOs

Secret Meeting, Clear Mission: 'Rescue' Kofi.

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Posted by Steve 2005-01-03 2:27:56 PM|| || Front Page|| [1 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 That Holbrooke hosted this little syndicate powwow is not a surprise... nor is the fact that they finally "get it" regarding being in trouble - from many sources...

But they seem to think it's about Kofi. And that's only partially correct.

The surprise for me is that the NYT ran the story. This has "spike" written all over it from their sycophantic POV... so I must conclude that others would've reported it - sans the spin we know is in there, had they failed to run with it... so it's damage control.

Posted by .com 2005-01-03 3:32:01 PM|| 2005-01-03 3:32:01 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 Agreed about Holbrooke .com, but I disagree about the NYT spiking the story... This was done perfectly.

1st- you've got the "UN under attack!" angle, which will bring out the weepy-crying left
2nd- you've got the "Well, he'll fix what's wrong!" angle, which will appeal to the more moderate left.
3rd- now the Bush admin has to bend over backwards not to be seen as 'drawing the sword.'
Finally, did you catch these quotes at the end?:

"Throughout the building there is fairly low morale, which stems from the lackluster way in which the institution and the secretary general's office have responded to the oil-for-food charges," Mr. Ruggie said.

Nothing about how maybe they have low morale because they were idealistic people who went to work for an idealistic organization and found it mired in corruption...

..."The attackers of the U.N. for too long have had a free ride in exaggerating the magnitude of the problem, sometimes deliberately distorting the facts, escalating their accusations and demands for his resignation, and frankly the response on the part of the U.N. has been inept."

This is a masterwork. Every base is covered. Someone figure out how much oil-for-food money went to 43rd street for this.

Posted by Anonymous6035 2005-01-03 7:17:44 PM|| 2005-01-03 7:17:44 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Me wonder who leaked the news of the meeting?

Me thinks it be one Ricky Holbrooke trying to salvage a dying political career.

Posted by Captain America 2005-01-03 8:17:32 PM|| 2005-01-03 8:17:32 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 Holbrooke's little errand was almost certainly sanctioned and cleared with the Bush admin. Sounds more like yet another attempt at good cop/bad cop in the tradition of Rummy/Powell (re "allies" and Iraq war), Bush/Blair (re Iran, Paleos), and now Coleman/Holbrooke.

Fact remains that Kofi's a useful tool for Bush and us during the Iraq election phase. Once the constituent assembly gets on its feet, then Kofi can be ditched.

Posted by lex 2005-01-03 11:14:21 PM|| 2005-01-03 11:14:21 PM|| Front Page Top

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