Well, the incredible shrinking _resident stood on his
tip toes, and with a trembling hand, delivered a
spooky speechlet wholly disconnected from the
realities of both the current state of international
relations and the facts on the ground in Iraq...It was
scary in its fantasy-like quality, scary in its
contempt for the other world powers, scary in its
self-delusion, scary in its lack of any effort to
conciliation or consensus...MEANWHILE, Kofi Annan
spoke forcefully, underscoring the grave offense that
has been committed...Will the US electorate hear of
what Annan said before the _resident spoke or what
Chirac said after the _resident spoke from the "US
mainstream news media"? Unlikely. Has the Bush cabal
lost all touch with reality? Or is something horrible
coming? The twin towers of the UN still stand in NYC.
May it be so always. And let us hope they screen their
snail mail carefully..Remember, as you watch the news
tonight, 2+2=4...
"But until now it has been understood that when states go beyond that and decide to use force to deal with broader threats to international peace and security, they need the unique legitimacy provided by the United Nations," he said. Now some say this understanding is no longer tenable since an 'armed attack' with weapons of mass destruction could be launched at any time. This logic represents a fundamental challenge to the principles, on which, however imperfectly, world peace and stability have rested for the last 58 years," Annan said.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0923-01.htm
Published on Tuesday, September 23, 2003 by Reuters
Global Free-For-All
Annan Challenges U.S. Doctrine of Preventive Action
by Evelyn Leopold
UNITED NATIONS - Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned
President Bush that his doctrine of preemptive
military intervention posed a fundamental challenge to
the United Nations and could lead to a global
free-for-all.
In a speech to be delivered shortly before Bush
addresses the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, Annan
declared that the Iraq crisis had brought the United
Nations to a "fork in the road" as decisive as 1945
when the world body was founded.
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan speaks at
the opening of the 58th United Nations General
Assembly special session on HIV/AIDS at U.N.
headquarters in New York, September 22, 2003. Annan
warned President Bush that his doctrine of preemptive
military intervention posed a fundamental challenge to
the United Nations and could lead to a global
free-for-all. Photo by Mike Segar/Reuters
Without mentioning the United States by name, Annan
spoke as states in the 191-member world body were
struggling to heal deep rifts caused by the war on
Iraq, in which the United States acted without U.N.
Security Council approval.
Annan questioned U.S. arguments that nations have the
"right and obligation to use force preemptively"
against unconventional weapons systems even while they
were still being developed.
"My concern is that, if it were to be adopted, it
could set precedents that resulted in a proliferation
of the unilateral and lawless use of force, with or
without credible justification," Annan warned in a
text of his speech released in advance.
He said the U.N. Charter allowed military action for
the purpose of self defense.
"But until now it has been understood that when states
go beyond that and decide to use force to deal with
broader threats to international peace and security,
they need the unique legitimacy provided by the United
Nations," he said.
"Now some say this understanding is no longer tenable
since an 'armed attack' with weapons of mass
destruction could be launched at any time," Annan
said.
"This logic represents a fundamental challenge to the
principles, on which, however imperfectly, world peace
and stability have rested for the last 58 years,"
Annan said.
NEW RULES ON WAR?
However, Annan said the 15-member Security Council, in
charge of war and peace, might need to consider
rewriting the rule book for the use of force.
"Its members may need to begin a discussion on the
criteria for an early authorization of coercive
measures to address certain types of threats -- for
instance, terrorist groups armed with weapons of mass
destruction," Annan said.
He said he was establishing a "high-level panel of
eminent personalities" to examine current challenges
to peace and security and recommend ways the United
Nations could reform its institutions.
"Excellencies, we have come to a fork in the road,"
Annan said. "This may be a moment no less decisive
than 1945 itself, when the United Nations was
founded."
Annan again berated U.N. members for not being able to
agree on an expansion of the Security Council, which
has remained nearly the same for 58 years.
"I would respectfully suggest to you, excellencies,
that in the eyes of your peoples the difficulties of
reaching agreement does not excuse your failure to do
so," Annan said.
Jan Kavan, the outgoing assembly president from the
Czech Republic said earlier that U.N. ambassadors
alone could not resolve Security Council reform after
a decade of trying.
"For that, you would need a major political
breakthrough in the capitals of certain key member
states," he said.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Ltd
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