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| Europe | |
| Germany hedges on whether UN role is condition of German support for reconstruction | |
| 2003-04-07 | |
There seems to be some confusion within the German govt about their role in the reconstruction of Iraq, with some statements now that Germany will still play a role even without a UN lead, though not as big a role as with a UN lead. This of course somewhat undercuts the French position, as does the insertion of Iraqi opposition leaders on the ground in southern Iraq.Germany may contribute its part to Iraq's post-war reconstruction even if the process is not carried out under UN supervision, a defence ministry spokesman said.
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| Posted by:Liberalhawk |
| #21 "Annan also announced he was naming Rafeeuddin Ahmed, a Pakistani national and former associate administrator of the U.N. Development Program, as his special adviser on Iraq" A Paki,now there is a ringing endorsment!(not) I would think the Japanese would be a better choice. |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-04-08 08:08:40 |
| #20 Do NOT invite the UN to the party: it would only legitimize them. They have been proven irrelevant, let them stay irrelevant. Allies and Supporters (all 45 of them) only thanks, that's enough. Don't fold now, USA stay strong to the end. An interim Iraqi government free of the UN is much more likely to be well ordered, disciplined and result in a restraining of the retribution blood-bath against Ba'ath affiliates and a transition to democracy. |
| Posted by: anon1 2003-04-08 01:03:25 |
| #19 liberalhawk, Ok, the Anglosphere is not all there is - agreed. However, I'm not sure that getting Germany in the game this early on is that useful as you have a lot of the former Soviet satellite countries who are itching to get in the game (as they're dirt-poor, a small amount of investment will go a long way). The Italians and Spanish have shown a lot more bottle than many people reckoned they had too. For a long time the French have seen Germany as being the guilt-wracked cash-cow of the EU, and they've played this to their advantage very well. The Germans have wanted to be good Europeans so badly they've done everything the EU has asked of them (the French on the other hand, are masters of misdirection when it comes to EU directives). Now that Germany realises that it's pissed off a country that had offered New York in return for Bonn in a nuclear exchange (and therefore prevented both cities disappearing), there must be a lot of forehead-slapping and 'oh fuck' moments going on over there. Of course, our own lads, the British Army on the Rhine, were there too, and they've managed to ruffle us as well, but being English, we expect it from them. No, no role for Germany in the reconstruction until they realise what a mistake they've made in turning their back on true allies. There must be a price to pay. |
| Posted by: Tony 2003-04-07 17:04:17 |
| #18 I wonder if he has any evidence for this? In the face of the joy of the Iraqi people at the arrival of coalition forces. He needs no evidence! The BBC told him so!! Now away with you. We don't need any stinking facts to mess up our anti-American views! Someone should buy this man a ticket to Basra, so he can explain his viewpoint to the people there. Basra? What is this Basra of which you speak? It is only a Hollywood soundstage, not a city in Iraq. All American propoganda lies! All of it! Now away with you. I must straighten my beret and join our great leader,Saddam, in his bunker. |
| Posted by: Celissa 2003-04-07 15:42:06 |
| #17 Iraq...which by the way wants no part of a democracy of any kind. Yeah, they would much rather be fed feet first into a plastic shredder. And as for your assertion that we gain nothing from this war, Mike, what about the moral satisfaction of knowing that torture is ending? Please don't give me that "it will unleash the fury of the Muslim world on us" crap, either. Were you asleep on 9/11? It's already been unleashed, dahlink. We're bitchslapping one of its sources of funding, and making the other sources nervous. Please turn off the al-Jazeera and stop thinking that the Iraqi Minister of Information is telling the truth. |
| Posted by: Former Russian Major 2003-04-07 15:39:13 |
| #16 kewl, a troll. Now he says "Iraq...which by the way wants no part of a democracy of any kind" I wonder if he has any evidence for this? In the face of the joy of the Iraqi people at the arrival of coalition forces. Someone should buy this man a ticket to Basra, so he can explain his viewpoint to the people there. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-04-07 13:57:05 |
| #15 He reiterated that while Germany wanted the United Nations -- rather than the United States -- to oversee the reconstruction, he saw it as "certainly" playing at least a secondary role. How 'bout a quaternary role, or maybe 0.01 role? The important point to keep in mind is that the battlefield was the first step. Then we start rebuilding the country, which will include infrastructure and government institutions that will serve the needs of the People that live there, not the regime or the Axis of Weasels (are you listening Chiraq?). And while we are doing that we have to keep popping and harrassing the fundos and orcs that will be coming out of the woodwork out of Syria, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi and all the rest of those regimes. Germany has hope and may come around. The French govt needs to be taught a real big lesson and they need to be locked out of the loop. Let us keep the Coalition of the Willing thing going in peacetime reconstruction and make it happen....without the UN in anything but a minor role. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-04-07 13:56:56 |
| #14 04/07/03 Germany will be used as the catalyst to bring the U.N into this mess as the "great savior" to rebuild Iraq...which by the way wants no part of a democracy of any kind. It appears that our governments have lost perspective on their purpose. Governments today do not serve the people of nations, but serve the masters of the global plantation...the rich and powerful who run the world--the very people who are making the war in the Middle East what it is now.  As a people living in U.S. and UK society, we gain NOTHING from this war ! "We the People" will be paying for this war for generations to come. U.S. and UK mainstream news is heavily censored, and the rest is mostly propaganda. Bring our troops home ASAP ! God Bless us all, please. :-( It is what it is, and sad it is. |
| Posted by: Mike Goodold 2003-04-07 13:36:44 |
| #13 [i]This of course somewhat undercuts the French position, as does the insertion of Iraqi opposition leaders on the ground in southern Iraq.[/i] France for the French. Iraq for the Iraqis. What's the frogs' problem comprehending that? |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-04-07 13:15:37 |
| #12 mojo has the right idea - we cant go alone with just the anglosphere forever - what we can to is unravel the coalition of weasels, and Germany is probably the best place to start. Re: Ahmed - Ive never heard of him, he sounds like he may not be as good as Brahimi (the UN's guy on Afghan) if not it will make it harder for there to be a lead role for UN in Iraq. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-04-07 12:58:45 |
| #11 Memo to Pepe Le Pew and Hanzel and Gretel: Tickets "at the door" are going to cost more than tickets in advance. |
| Posted by: Capsu78 2003-04-07 12:12:48 |
| #10 It's probably worth it to let Krauts on board, if only to piss off the Frogs... |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-04-07 11:59:14 |
| #9 Does anyone know if the Belgians kicked out their Iraqi diplomats yet? They were defiant about not doing so a couple of weeks ago. It doesn't look like they have a government to represent anymore. Dumb ass Belgians. |
| Posted by: g wiz 2003-04-07 11:44:35 |
| #8 PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE NO ROLE FOR GERMANY. It's too late to hop on the bandwagon. GO AWAY |
| Posted by: g wiz 2003-04-07 11:42:26 |
| #7 Kofi Speaks: U.N. to Play Major Role in Rebuilding Iraq UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Monday that he expected the United Nations to play an important role in rebuilding Iraq after the war and said this would bring legitimacy to the effort. Annan also announced he was naming Rafeeuddin Ahmed, a Pakistani national and former associate administrator of the U.N. Development Program, as his special adviser on Iraq. "I do expect the U.N. to play an important role, and the U.N. has had good experience in this area," Annan told reporters ahead of a meeting of the U.N. Security Council that he had called to discuss the issue. "There are lots of areas the U.N. can play a role, but above all the U.N. involvement does bring legitimacy, which is necessary for the country, for the region and for the peoples around the world," he said. You can empty the porta-pottis you arrogant prick...let Dominique help you |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-04-07 11:32:40 |
| #6 Appears the "Coalition of the Unwilling" is beginning to unravel perhaps? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-04-07 10:57:57 |
| #5 I love it when the French are marginalized. |
| Posted by: George 2003-04-07 10:29:00 |
| #4 kewl, a troll. Now he says "Iraq...which by the way wants no part of a democracy of any kind" I wonder if he has any evidence for this? In the face of the joy of the Iraqi people at the arrival of coalition forces. Someone should buy this man a ticket to Basra, so he can explain his viewpoint to the people there. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 4/7/2003 1:57:05 PM |
| #3 [i]This of course somewhat undercuts the French position, as does the insertion of Iraqi opposition leaders on the ground in southern Iraq.[/i] France for the French. Iraq for the Iraqis. What's the frogs' problem comprehending that? |
| Posted by: Ptah 4/7/2003 1:15:37 PM |
| #2 It's probably worth it to let Krauts on board, if only to piss off the Frogs... |
| Posted by: mojo 4/7/2003 11:59:14 AM |
| #1 Appears the "Coalition of the Unwilling" is beginning to unravel perhaps? |
| Posted by: tu3031 4/7/2003 10:57:57 AM |