"There Go The People. I Must Follow Them For I Am Their Leader."
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Foreign Affairs — Comments (4) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Now that the Volcker Commission has come out with a damning report regarding the U.N. oil-for-food program--a report that condemns the oversight of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, among other parties--Annan is trying to get ahead of any attempt to oust him by posing as a champion of U.N. reform.
This, needless to say, simply won't do--especially given the less-than-frank manner in which the Secretary-General has dealt with the Volcker Commission (cf. Annan's reluctance to mention the role his son has had in the oil-for-food program). It may be outside the purview of the Volcker Commission to recommend a change in leadership at the top, but it is not outside the purview of others to do so.
To be sure, Annan may still remain a force to be dealt with and people may prefer the devil they know to the one they don't--thus perhaps preserving Annan's political position. This is why a determined effort must be made to outflank the putative outflanker and present a reform agenda which has the virtues of (1) cleaning up the U.N.; and (2) making the Secretary-General's position untenable by being a plan that is both intellectually rigorous and too vigorous for Annan to sign onto--thus robbing him of the ability to pose as a champion of reform.
I have nothing in particular against Kofi Annan. But this entire episode appears to have made clear the need for new leadership. Annan can save himself by being a genuine reformer and putting his money where his mouth is. Let's see if he is willing to do so. If not--and I suspect he won't--let's have him leave.
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"There Go The People. I Must Follow Them For I Am Their Leader." 4 Comments (0 topical, 4 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
in one key respect.
You still believe that the U.N. can be reformed, be "cleaned up" as it were.
To me, that sounds like a call to reform the Cosa Nostra or the Russian Mafia. Corruption, inefficiency, and dysfunction are not bugs but features of the U.N. as it is constituted today. Just one example: LYBIA is a member, but TAIWAN is not? Ooookay.
Is the leader the problem, or a symptom of the problem? I feel more and more every day that it's the latter.
-TS
Re: Just one example: LYBIA is a member, but TAIWAN is not? Ooookay.
Taiwan is not a member because everyone (including the Taiwanese themselves) maintains the fiction that Taiwan, one way or another, is part of China.
Basically everyone, including the Taiwanese, has yielded to the incredible face-saving urges of China and signed on to the "one-china" policy. About the only place that has the balls to recognize Taiwan as an independent nation and criticize the Chinese government consistently is the Vatican. Just another example of John Paul II sticking to what was right rather than what was convenient. Of course, in our defense, the Vatican doesn't depend on billions of dollars of imports covered with 'made in China' stickers like we do. Basically, they can afford to do the right thing while it would cost us greatly to point out the ridiculous nature of the Taiwan-China situation.
the UN nations, it is doubtful somebody much better will replace him.
Although, there is still that speculation that Clinton wants the job, and I almost think that would be a good thing for the UN (yeah I don't care for him, but I actually think as scary as it seems a Clinton would seek to reform the "good ol' boys" aspect of the UN-rather than continue with the mismanagement and status quo). My guess though is we will get some other leader from an African nation where corruption is standard operating procedure in running government and will once again be the way the UN is run.