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Kofi sez we need the UN...
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned the United States on Saturday against attacking Iraq on its own, arguing collective action under a U.N. umbrella would have greater legitimacy and better odds of success. The first is arguable, the second laughable... In an address marking the 310th anniversary of William and Mary College, Annan also stressed that force should be used only as a last resort. But if the U.N. Security Council concludes, after a key report by U.N. inspectors due on Friday, that Iraq is not disarming as required by council resolutions, "the council must face up to its responsibilities," he said. He trusts the Frenchies to make sure it doesn't... "This is an issue not for any one state alone, but for the international community as a whole," Annan said. "When states decide to use force, not in self-defense but to deal with broader threats to international peace and security, there is no substitute for the unique legitimacy provided by the United Nations Security Council," he said. He's equating verbiage with legitimacy... "When there is strong U.S. leadership, exercised through patient diplomatic persuasion and coalition-building, the United Nations is successful — and the United States is successful," he said. "The United Nations is most useful to all its members, including the United States, when it is united and works as a source of collective action rather than discord," he said. Like it did in Rwanda. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-02-08 |
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