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| Iraq | |
| Aid agencies say UN should run Iraq | |
| 2003-05-03 | |
| Aid agencies called for the United Nations to take over running Iraq yesterday and warned that the power vacuum was threatening to undermine efforts to deliver vital relief supplies. Nope, no vested interests here! Just a day after President Bush declared military operations over, Britain's five biggest aid agencies and their Muslim counterparts described the situation in the country as "serious and deteriorating". "Cuz we ain't running the joint!" Broken water plants and sewage systems threaten to spread disease epidemics, according to the agencies, and hospitals, already under strain before the war, are struggling to cope with serious outbreaks of disease. "The people of Iraq are suffering," the agencies said. "In parts of the country, the situation is critical. Hospitals are overwhelmed, diarrhoea is endemic and the death toll is mounting. Clean water is scarce and diseases like typhoid are being reported in southern Iraq." Of course, it's getting better on a daily basis. The agencies said occupying forces were failing in their duties under the Geneva convention to ensure the orderly delivery of humanitarian assistance. Local militias have forced people out of their homes and threatened hospitals, aid workers reported. "In a country made up a mosaic of ethnic, religious and tribal groups, this can only lead to more turbulence and more misery for those civilians caught in between." "And we'll be sure to keep it that way, 'cuz we're from the U.N., and makin' folks feel different is second nature to us!" To fill the power vacuum, the agencies said the UN had to be put in charge of Iraq's transition to democracy. "For any solution to be sustainable, the UN has to have a central role in overseeing and managing the transition to a representative, accountable and democratic Iraqi government," the agencies said. Do you guys understand the meaning of the phrase, "go piss up a rope"? "Time is running on, and still there has been no
What else would an EU commissioner stress? Mr Nielson, a critic of the US-led war, is to meet senior officials from the UN and the Red Cross. It is not clear whether he will meet Mr Garner. I'm sure Mr. Garner has all sorts of time for EU-nik critics. EU countries want a new UN resolution to create a clear international legal framework for postwar Iraq. The union has allotted allocated €31m (£24m) aid to Iraq since the war began, distributing the money through the Red Cross, Unicef, and other aid agencies. It is now considering whether to set up its own Baghdad office. Great, about $35 million bucks, and they think they should own the joint. The EU's first aid delivery was held up last night after the US refused permission for its plane to land in Baghdad. "Nope, sorry, ain't safe for EU-niks yet, try us again next year." A diplomatic source said the plane was to have flown via Turkey, but the United States was concerned it might be shot at when it entered Iraqi airspace. Virgin's chief executive, Richard Branson, flew into Basra airport yesterday with 60 tonnes of medical supplies aboard the first commercial airliner to arrive in Iraq since the war. Notice Rich isn't belly-aching about who's in charge, he's just getting on with the work. The UN also landed its first supplies last night in Umm Qasr in a ship carrying 14,000 tonnes of rice. But with the security situation preventing free movement around the country, aid agencies said delivering the supplies would be a challenge. If there's a security problem, we'll take care of it. I haven't seen this anywhere else so I think the Guardian is blowing smoke. The World Food Programme said rice would be distributed by the end of May, when households are are likely to run short of supplies. Before the war, Umm Qasr handled most of the humanitarian aid shipped to Iraq under the UN oil-for- And that's something else we're going to fix over time. No reason why the Iraqis can't feed themselves. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 Yeah, the UN has done such a wonderful job at everything else it has attempted to do, including protecting UN humanitarian aid workers (on the other hand, top level UN administrators for such projects tend to be very well compensated and equally well insulated from life in the trenches). |
| Posted by: Anonymous Troll 2003-05-04 01:40:47 |
| #2 "Virgin's chief executive, Richard Branson, flew into Basra airport yesterday..." And his pilot was an Iraqi exile who works for Virgin Alantic Airways...nice touch, that. |
| Posted by: Esoteric 2003-05-03 20:28:11 |
| #1 How about using your hot air and temper tantrums to get all sanctions lifted? No fun huh? It would be the ultimate "screw you" by Bush if all aid to Iraq was funneled through Magen David Adom - heh heh, not gonna happen, but the spittle and eye-rolling throughout the Arab lands would be excellent viewing |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-05-03 11:33:40 |