Annan criticizes U.S. in farewell speech

[annihilation]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061211/ap_on_re_us/annan_farewell&printer=1

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in his farewell address, criticized the Bush administration, warning that America must not sacrifice its Democratic ideals while waging war against terrorism.
In remarks prepared for delivery Monday at the Truman Presidential Museum and Library, Annan also said the Security Council should be expanded.
"Human rights and the rule of law are vital to global security and prosperity," Annan's text said. When the U.S. "appears to abandon its own ideals and objectives, its friends abroad are naturally troubled and confused," he said.
Annan, who leaves the United Nations on Dec. 31 after 10 years as secretary-general, has become an increasingly vocal critic of the war in Iraq.
He said in the text that the U.S. has a special responsibility to the world because it continues to have extraordinary power.
Annan summed up five principles that he considers essential: collective responsibility, global solidarity, rule of law, mutual accountability and multilateralism.
He chose the Truman museum for his final major speech in part because it is dedicated to a president who was instrumental in the founding of the United Nations. His text repeatedly praised the Truman administration but never mentioned Bush by name.
"As President Truman said, 'The responsibility of the great states is to serve and not dominate the peoples of the world,'" Annan said.
"He believed strongly that henceforth security must be collective and indivisible. That was why, for instance, that he insisted when faced with aggression by North Korea against the South in 1950, on bringing the issue to the United Nations," Annan said.
"Against such threats as these, no nation can make itself secure by seeking supremacy over all others."
Annan also called for a reform of the Security Council, saying its membership "still reflects the reality of 1945." He suggested adding new members to represent parts of the world with less of a voice.
He said the permanent members, the world powers, "must accept the special responsibility that comes with their privilege.'
"The Security Council is not just another stage on which to act out national interests," he said in another jab at Bush.
Annan has a had a strained relationship with the administration and with outgoing U.S. Ambassador John Bolton.
He was criticized by some in the administration and in Iraq after saying earlier this month that the level of violence in Iraq is much worse than that of Lebanon's civil war and that some Iraqis believe their lives were better under Saddam Hussein.
He also has urged the international community to help rebuild Iraq, saying he was not sure Iraq could accomplish it alone.
Bolton also is leaving this month. He resigned in the wake of the November elections, which gave Democrats control over the next Congress, making his Senate confirmation unlikely.
After a private dinner Tuesday night at the White House for Annan, Bolton joked that "nobody sang 'Kumbaya.'"
Told at the time of Bolton's comment, Annan laughed and asked: "But does he know how to sing it?"

[Mr. JOSHUA]

"As President Truman said, 'The responsibility of the great states is to serve and not dominate the peoples of the world,'" Annan said.



Thats why he and his cronies are trying to force international law on us?

Thats why they were trying to come up with a resolution to take away our firearms, but, were slowed down when people found out and couldn't come up with a way to spin it?

Where's KOJO?

Why isn't KOJO in the media nuce?

[Hunterhr]

"Human rights and the rule of law are vital to global security and prosperity,"

How about them Sudanese Kofi?

[helomech]

**** Kofi and the UN!He hasn't done a bit of good nor did the previous SecGen Boutros-Gali.The UN is just a place to get rich off the tragedies of the unfortunate...

[tsuri]

Thats why he and his cronies are trying to force international law on us?

umm.. you subjected yourself to international law when coming up with the UN? That´s the whole idea..


Thats why they were trying to come up with a resolution to take away our firearms, but, were slowed down when people found out and couldn't come up with a way to spin it?
Ohh your precious guns :(
Surely the actions against illegal arms trafficking to make it harder for rebels and dictators to arm themselves would have greatly impacted your legal gun ownership.

Where's KOJO?

Why isn't KOJO in the media nuce?
Why doesn´t GWB talk about his Alcohol and Drugs problems all the time? Why didn´t Bill Clinton brag about how he shagged them interns?

Because it is not relevant for the matter.


How about them Sudanese Kofi?

The Secretary General does not get to rule the world unfortunately. He is the poster figure of a giant Kindergarten.


**** Kofi and the UN!He hasn't done a bit of good nor did the previous SecGen Boutros-Gali
He does not have any power. What should he do? The best thing he can do is send an angry letter.

UN Problems must be blamed on the states that refuse to solve them and not the person of the secretary general.


Well that was Kofi. He tried but could not do any more. Welcome to international relations.

[Mr. JOSHUA]

me thinks tsuri smoked pot!

[Geezah]

Thats why they were trying to come up with a resolution to take away our firearms, but, were slowed down when people found out and couldn't come up with a way to spin it?

Ohh your precious guns :(
Surely the actions against illegal arms trafficking to make it harder for rebels and dictators to arm themselves would have greatly impacted your legal gun ownership.

If only it were that simple, it would good if it would impatc the thousands in Rwanda but it wouldn't have.

The whole firearm treaty (IMHO) was pushed by George Soros and IANSA, and while it may look good on paper will not do a darn thing to stop violence around the World!

[Hiroshima]

Course, we've already been over the topic of the UN trying to take people's guns, haven't we Geezah?

[Jobu]

Nobody gives a **** what Kofi Annan says.

[Geezah]

Course, we've already been over the topic of the UN trying to take people's guns, haven't we Geezah?

Are you asking me or telling me?

[Thor]

Now when it's clear what Kofi thinks, I think we should hear what Jack Daniels has to say.

[Hiroshima]

Are you asking me or telling me?

Hmm.. now that's a good question... I suppose it's more like telling you in the form of a question, or better yet, informing others while replying to you.

[Geezah]

Hmm.. now that's a good question... I suppose it's more like telling you in the form of a question, or better yet, informing others while replying to you.

If you wish to inform others, why not supply a link, that would work a whole lot better than you trying your hand at playing the......
http://www.blogstudio.com/woodgnome/riddler.jpg

[Hiroshima]

If you wish to inform others, why not supply a link, that would work a whole lot better than you trying your hand at playing the......

Ok Batman,

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=84689

[apm]

The united nations would work like intendet if all countries would follow the rules which they accepted as they joined the un and if they would understand that the un is a forum for all and not only for the mightiest members. and with saying this i don´t mean only the united states but also the rest of the western world. they only take action if their money is in danger (for example darfur, a place where you cant find oil), but also they don´t keep what they promised. it´s a shame that so many countries spend billions on their armed forces but if the sc wants a mission to be carried out, everything is packed on the back of small third world countries again. the un does - at least sometimes - a good job by coordinating development aid or to relief the dammage after disasters, and i don´t want to know how the world would look like without the organization - but nothing more, unfortunately. the un was founded just after a terrible war which led to the fact that the will to end conflicts peacefully and generally to unite under one flag was very much stronger than nowadays, where the most countries are more or less on the same level there. reforms are more than necessary and should be introduced as soon as possible if the members of the un don´t want to reduce the organization to nothing more than a development aid fund.

[WKD]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061211/ap_on_re_us/annan_farewell&printer=1

In further news today, Kofi Annan blames whitey.



Edited for brevity.

[sir-chimp]

Edited for brevity.

rofl rofl rofl

see ya kofi you dirty scandal ridden terrorist sympathizing useless kunt

buh by now

[NimDod]

I'll bet that in less then 6 months from now, Mr Annan will to be revealed as a board/directorate member in one of the major oil companies in the middle east.

does anyone know the results of the investigation of the "food for oil" scandal which his son was involved with?

[apm]

i wonder what the reason is that so many angloamericans here are so disrespectful against the un, never heard a real argumentation or reasons. i repeat my statement, everything wrong the un did - undoubtable it did many things wrong - were mistakes by it´s member countries. for rwanda it did take three weeks for the sc to make a decision, which could have stopped the bloodshed if there had been the will. so and which nations were in the sc 93/94/95 ?


1993 / 1994 Spain, New Zealand, Brazil, Djibuti and Pakistan
(http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanien)1994 / 1995 : Czech Republic, Argentinia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Oman

China, France, UK, Russia, USsomething ringing? the secgen is just the "moderator" of the un, he has nothing really to do, only representative task - so what did you expect from him what he could do? making big words is the only possibility he has, and if the un fails to end an conflict or relief the problems after a disaster, it is the fault by the members not by the secgen.

[Ordie]

I have a deep respect for Mr. Annan.
Its not easy.

The UN is not a governing body but a forum of nation states. The Secretary General role is that of a facilitator with no sticks and some carrots. You need to remember that his bosses are the 192 members and must show strict neutrality. Resolutions passed by the General Assembly are non-binding.

The secretary General cannot take action in Darfur unless it is directed from the Security Council to do so. Of the security council members, US, China, Russia, France, and the UK are permanent members with veto powers. So far Russia and China have objected in sending a peacekeeping force in Darfur for a variety of reasons. The US needs China to take the lead in North Korea and will not push hard on China on the question of Darfur.

[budgie]

me thinks tsuri smoked pot!

Actually he just 'smoked' you.

[Mr. JOSHUA]

Actually he just 'smoked' you.



OHHHHHHHHHH.........you got me budgie............

........you just killed the f*cking thread.....................

[budgie]

Naah I'll just bump it to keep it going. Jests aside though, the 'what are you on?' comeback is applicable when people go on silly rants. When someone like tsuri actually discusses his angle on the issues it seems a little dismissive just to accuse him of being stoned without discussing the actual arguments. What he said made sense to me, and I'm pretty sure I'm sober,

[Mr. JOSHUA]

umm.. you subjected yourself to international law when coming up with the UN? That´s the whole idea..

We subjected ourselves to international law by creating the UN?

I thought the UN's purpose was to prevent another catasrophe like WW1 and WW2 from happening again and to provide a unified diplomatic effort to head off forthcoming aggression from one nation to another.

Ohh your precious guns :(
Surely the actions against illegal arms trafficking to make it harder for rebels and dictators to arm themselves would have greatly impacted your legal gun ownership.

What actions? This is a feel good piece of paper that makes the left feel comfortable, while at the same time attempts to put more restrictions on gun ownership, forces you to register all your weapons, ban certain weapons and eventually perhaps, even ban all firearms.

The first ingredient in a dictator recipe is to disarm the people, no resistance, no problems.

Bottom line, it does nothing to hinder the actions of dictators and rebels.

Why doesn´t GWB talk about his Alcohol and Drugs problems all the time? Why didn´t Bill Clinton brag about how he shagged them interns?

If it weren't for the Bill Clinton knock, I'd start saying the usual liberal tactic is to not answer the question directed at him, rather he answers with a question about Bush.

Regardless, I don't see how bush and clinton have anything to do with Kojo, he didn't answer me when I asked about Kojo, why don't you ask him to come up with a defense for Mr. Kojo instead of taking the easy route in attempting to bash Bush?

Kofi has done nothing to benefit the world, seems like his only priority is to undermine and bash America.

There are plenty of things he rants and raves about but doesn't lift a finger to get the ball rolling himself.

The Secretary General does not get to rule the world unfortunately. He is the poster figure of a giant Kindergarten.

I'll agree to that.

He does not have any power. What should he do? The best thing he can do is send an angry letter.

Bull.

UN Problems must be blamed on the states that refuse to solve them and not the person of the secretary general.

Alright, lets solve this problem, the US is the #1 financial provider for the UN even though they're are other nations that are just as wealthy that vote not to raise their payment to the UN. The UN is on our soil, yet, dictators and other pieces of sh*t get to come here on our soil and completely trash us and our president.

So then, get that hunk-a-junk off of its foundation, on to a trailer, and roll it on outta here to Iran or Venezuela or North Korea.

With all the anti-Americanism coming outta there, it would be well suited at any one of those places.

Well that was Kofi. He tried but could not do any more. Welcome to international relations.

Yea, let us say that about Bush and see if he gets a free pass like Kofi did.

[tsuri]

We subjected ourselves to international law by creating the UN?

OK so you did not read the Charter. Do so.


What actions? This is a feel good piece of paper that makes the left feel comfortable, while at the same time attempts to put more restrictions on gun ownership, forces you to register all your weapons, ban certain weapons and eventually perhaps, even ban all firearms.

Worldwide problems are solved at the universal international Organisation. That´s what it is there for. You don´t´have to run around gathering states and put them all in one place. They are already there.
I don´t´like everything they do but it´s not the organisation but the states and individuals that come up with these things. If the states want it, they will agree on it, if they don´t they say no.


The first ingredient in a dictator recipe is to disarm the people, no resistance, no problems.

Bottom line, it does nothing to hinder the actions of dictators and rebels.



Different topic but only so much: If it was so easy to get a gun illegaly, disarmed populations would have done it. They did not. Either it works or the people are really stupid.


If it weren't for the Bill Clinton knock, I'd start saying the usual liberal tactic is to not answer the question directed at him, rather he answers with a question about Bush.

I did awnser the question directly enough. Private affairs do not matter to the UN or matters of state. Oh No! Kojo got benefits because he has a famous name! That happens in capitalism all the time.



Bull.

Show me the powers he has as per UN Charter?

He is an Administrator. Only has so much powers as the Security Council or the GA grant him and is basically just in charge of paperwork. He can, according to the charter bring various issues to the attention of the Security Council = angry letter.



Alright, lets solve this problem, the US is the #1 financial provider for the UN even though they're are other nations that are just as wealthy that vote not to raise their payment to the UN. The UN is on our soil, yet, dictators and other pieces of sh*t get to come here on our soil and completely trash us and our president.

US is the biggest economy and therefore pays the most money. Other nations that come close (due to beeing smaller) pay a much much larger % of their Gdp to the UN than the US do. Japan is a prime example here.

As for the other part. The UN is not on US Soil or Austrian Soil or whatever place their building stands at. It is a universal organisation, so every country has the RIGHT TO JOIN. If these states hate the US, it is matterless if they do so at home or in an international organisation.

We can´t all be friends, that is why we have the UNO in the first place.



Well that was Kofi. He tried but could not do any more. Welcome to international relations.

The US-Americans like to call their president the most powerful man on the planet. If he ****s up, he can be blamed.

As for Annan: Not achieving much is basically part of the job description. Not to mention that he was the US Candidate for the job :p

[Jobu]

Kofi's excuse for all of his failures is:

"...but Bush!"


Let's hope the new guy is better at actually getting things done.

[apm]

Kofi's excuse for all of his failures is:

"...but Bush!"


Let's hope the new guy is better at actually getting things done.

when will you guys finally consult an encyclopedia? i know i do the same mistake sometimes, speaking about things i have not much knowledge about, but not if i want to make big words. the secgen has not any real rights or tasks concerning the policy of the un where he is more a kind of observer and moderator. so why do all of you keep on pushing all the failures the un did in your eyes on the shoulders of the secgen? indeed, the un did many things wrong and failed enourmusly to stop actual conflicts but the only thing the secgen can do is to ask the members to debate about a recent problem. it´s on the un members to take action or not. i´m neither for nor against the un, but i get really tired if i have to read the same stuff again and again.

[Jobu]

when will you guys finally consult an encyclopedia? i know i do the same mistake sometimes, speaking about things i have not much knowledge about,..... nor against the un, but i get really tired if i have to read the same stuff again and again.
...but Bush!



rofl

[Geezah]

...but Bush!



rofl


but Kojo.....