Who is More Dangerous than Osama?

The provocative and compelling response in this column is Hugo Chavez. He makes some valid points too. He just loses me on the whole State Dept. conspiracy thing. Sounds like he hatched that one after spending an afternoon at Domino Park.

Good News and Bad News for Kofi

First the headache. Two Euro based papers are reporting that the secretary general's son, Kojo, received $300,000 from a company awarded a contract in the oil for food program. That is double of what was originally disclosed. In addition a report revealed and the UN confirmed that it will be reimbursing a portion of the legal fees of the suspended head of the oil for food program. The money will come from the very program he has been accused of ripping off.

The Washington Times lauds Kofi's reformist efforts and reports praise for Annan's call to reform human rights monitoring. NGOs and humanitarian law experts seem to like the proposal for a new human rights council although some dissension was still heard from member states. A Mid East diplomat and another from a developing country raised objections. A EUnuch also questioned the effectiveness of the new body his (or her) concern was that "It could end up just a club of democratic states who are resented by the rest of the membership and may in fact weaken the reporting aspects in countries further." So I suppose we need to make sure that we throw in a dictatorship or two to even things out.

God I Hate This Guy

This should go up there with "I am not a crook." and "I did not have sexual relations with that woman (pause) Monica Lewinsky." Here is Jacques Chirac on lifting the arms embargo on China:

Lifting the embargo does not mean selling arms...The Europeans have no intention of launching a policy of arms exports to China, which is not asking for this.

Me

In the Herald, just a letter.

The Texas Summit

The Heritage Foundation also has advice on how to "advance North American cooperation." The idea is to slash tarriffs, reduce regulatory and tax burdens, eliminate trade barriers, bolster security cooperation and develop and de-nationalize (dream on!) energy sources. While the Canadian, Mexican and American head of states confer in Texas the Mexican gov't will be ripping CIA chief Porter Goss (en espanol) for labeling our southern border a security threat.

This (espanol again) is always cool. It is President Fox's permission slip for his Texas visit. The President of Mexico has to ask permission from the Congress before leaving the country. This was why Pres. Fox did not rush to W.'s side after 9-11. If I remember correctly the Congress was not in session so he could not leave.

EUnuchs Give in on China (For Now)

The EUnuchs are tabling their proposal to lift the arms embargo on China. They were taken aback by the vehemence of Congressional opposition. Then again the embargo appears to be mostly symbolic. According to the conservative Heritage Foundation licensed EUnuch arms sales to China increased sixfold from 2001 to 2003. France alone sold $222 million worth in 2003 over a third of the EUnuch total.

An Iraqi Fights Back

If there were more people like this then we could leave Iraq.

Mein Passion

Remember the concern that the Passion of the Christ would stir up anti-semitic acts and sentiment. I found that to be a bit overblown, but this situation in Turkey has me concerned.

Bolton...Two Sides

Peter Beinart says that John Bolton is the wrong man (or person) for the UN job, but Anne Applebaum disagrees. Both acknowledge that Bolton is a bomb thrower, but draw different conclusions on whether this is what the UN needs. Applebaum comes out winning in this case. Beinart recalls the pugnacious Daniel Patrick Moynihan and the equally combative Jeanne Kirkpatrick and why they need to fight to defend American interests in the institution. He says that US influence was practically nil and our only option was to go down fighting. True but even in those dark days we could still count on support from our western allies, can we do that now? Bolton may not be right for the job, but this argument is weak.

Applebaum defends the UN, but not before calling for reforms. She believes that the UN needs someone like Bolton to help it right itself.

Welcome to the Schiavo Free Zone

As of this morning the Terri Schiavo case has yet to be brought up to the Security Council so we can steer clear of it with a clean conscience. Speaking of the Security Council here's a hearty cheer to Kofi Annan's proposals to reform the United Nations. Among the reforms touted by Mr. Annan are expanding membership in the Security Council; creating a new human rights monitoring mechanism; drafting a long-delayed international convention against terrorism; and a resolution stating when force could be used in a preemptive fashion. There is also a call for more funding for developing states. Mr. Annan is pushing the reforms as a package deal, because as the LA Times notes there is something for everyone to support and oppose.

The reforms are a good starting point, but there is still room for improvement. The Security Council needs to be expanded to represent the reality of 2005 and not the world of 1945. The inclusion of Brazil, Germany, Japan and India as permanent non-veto wielding members would be a good start. It is my hope that with time both Mexico and South Africa would also qualify. I have already had a rant or two about the Human Rights Commission so I welcome the idea of scrapping it and replacing it with a new body, but the Annan proposal does not go far enough. The only states that would be excluded would be those that have been cited for human rights violations. All this would do is punish those states lacking political pull in the global arena. China remains one of the worlds most oppressive regimes, but it is unlikely that more than a handful of idealistic (and puny) nations will ever try to take on the Reds. It may be better to work with NGOs (Amnesty International, Freedom House, etc.) to establish an effective human rights monitoring system. A resolution defining terrorism would be most welcome, but it could conflict with a resolution defining when preemptive action can be taken. Regardless a resolution on preemptive attacks should be labeled DOA. There is little chance the US or China would support it. Finally the increase in funding for developing nations is bound to elicit muted enthusiasm. Too many questions remain on how this should be handled although some guidelines were proposed. I do agree with the call in the Secretary General's report for duty free and quota free access for goods from Least Developed Countries.

What a Babe!

Chief of Staff Andy Card and Budget Director Josh Bolten want you to know that the new public face of the administration is a hottie. Hat tip - Slate.

Just Give Him the Job Already

Enough of the handwringing and discussion can the WB shareholders please vote Wolfie in? I'm just getting a little tired of reading stories on what this all means. By the way Wolfie has started a charm offensive...yikes.

The Man Who Changed the World

It is difficult for me to rationally discuss George F. Kennan's legacy and his passing. As a junior in high school I was obligated to read Kennan's book American Diplomacy and it had a profound affect on me. Mr. Kennan may have been ambivalent about his "Long Telegram," his anonymously published "The Sources of Soviet Conduct" and containment the policy those works inspired, but we owe him a debt of gratitude. It is quite plausible that the US would have stumbled onto this policy anyway, but we didn't have to because we had Kennan. The NY Times has a lengthy piece on Kennan and his career. Richard Holbrooke reflects on the paradox that was Kennan and the Christian Science Monitor talks about his "profound global effect."