Ian Williams

Annan's Principled Pragmatism

December 28, 2006

Although Kofi Annan's tenure was shadowed by political catfights, he leaves the United Nations as one of its most successful secretary generals.

John Bolton's Greatest Hits

December 6, 2006

Exactly how much damage did John Bolton do during his tenure at the United Nations? Let us count the ways.

Bush Crony to Head UN's Food Program

November 8, 2006

John Bolton's surprise announcement that a former Washington Times editor will head the UN's World Food Program bodes ill for the idea that competence is more important than political loyalty.

Memo to Kerry: Criticize, Don't Apologize

November 3, 2006

John Kerry should stop being nice about the Deserter in Chief. He should be reminding voters that the President who has sent more than 3,000 US soldiers and allies and untold thousands of Iraqis to their deaths deserted his post during the Vietnam War.

A Devil's Bargain

October 17, 2006

The United States may well have its way and exclude Venezuela from the UN Security Council, in retribution for Hugo Chávez's diabolical roast of George W. Bush. But doesn't the world have larger issues to worry about?

Ban's First Challenge?

October 12, 2006

South Korea's quiet-spoken and principled Ban Ki-moon, who has just been nominated to replace Kofi Annan as the UN Secretary General, may find it difficult to confront US unilateralism.

Low-Key Leader for High-Anxiety Times

October 3, 2006

South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon now has a virtual lock on succeeding Kofi Annan as UN Secretary General. Does he have what it takes to be a mediator between Bush's Washington and the rest of the world?

Look East for a New UN Leader

September 29, 2006

The election campaign for the UN's next Secretary General is the most transparent in history, but the politics are as murky as ever. As diplomatic wrangling continues, one thing is clear: The next leader will come from Asia.

Bush's Selective Perception

September 21, 2006

President Bush's address to the UN General Assembly was less disdainful than earlier speeches, but it shined a light on the President's willful blindness to the complexity of the problems facing the Mideast and the world.

Cease-Fire and Frustration

August 12, 2006

After thirty-one days of war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and more than 1,000 dead, the United Nations has finally passed a cease-fire. Now what?

The Semantics of Terror

August 12, 2006

The easy invocation of "terrorism"--whether by pundits or political leaders--is not just sloppy use of language. It is precisely targeted phrasing intended to terrorize dissent.

The UN's Mideast Mission

July 20, 2006

The United Nations can be a useful tool in settling the current crisis in Lebanon and Gaza, but only with US support. It is up to President Bush to get on the phone to Ehud Olmert and tell him to stop.

Say Goodbye to Bolton

June 26, 2006

Selection of a new UN Secretary General is too important to be engineered by the whims and prejudices of John Bolton. It's time for saner voices in the Administration to tell the UN ambassador his time is up.

UN to US: End the Abuse

June 8, 2006

UN Deputy Secretary Mark Malloch Brown's measured reprimand of the Bush Administration was not an attack. It was a call for real US leadership instead of the bullying tactics of John Bolton.

The Bolton Archipelago

March 15, 2006

John Bolton's grandstanding vote today opposing the establishment of a UN Human Rights Council might please hard-core isolationists. But no one else.

The Secret History of Rum

November 22, 2005

Long before oil dominated geopolitics, rum was the original global commodity, tying Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Caribbean in a complex web of trade and credit. And Bacardi was the original multinational.

Oil-for-Food: It Worked!

October 6, 2005

Conservatives have undermined the credibility of the United Nations by exposing corruption in its oil-for-food program. But the inquiry led by Paul Volcker didn't look at the mishandling of billions of dollars in oil-for-food surpluses given to US occupation forces or the alleged looting of such funds by US companies.

Bolton Sent to UN

August 2, 2005

The conservatives who applauded the President's courage in making a recess appointment to John Bolton are normally strict constructionists.

Bush's Perverse UN Pick

March 8, 2005

John Bolton's career has been dedicated to subverting the UN.

The UN 'Scandal' Report

February 10, 2005

The Right's Assault on Kofi Annan

December 22, 2004

How the neocons created a "scandal" to punish a critic of US foreign policies.

Real UN Reform

December 9, 2004

Bush, Kerry & Vietnam

September 9, 2004

The flag and uniform Bush has wrapped himself in should be ripped off.

Bush's Military Past

August 5, 2004

George W. Bush's National Guard Service records have a suspiciously low survival rate.

The UN Oil 'Scandal'

April 15, 2004

Blix Not Bombs

March 18, 2004

A Faithful Servant

February 5, 2004

Whose Problem, Whose Solution?

May 14, 2003

The new UN resolution doesn't even try to bring the Iraqi occupation into line with international law.

The US Caged--For Now

December 5, 2002

The Humanitarian Temptation

November 21, 2002

Human Rights at the UN

October 17, 2002

The UN Gambit

September 12, 2002

Keeping the UN in Line

June 27, 2002

Big Food's Real Appetites

April 18, 2002

Iraq: What the Butler Saw

September 7, 2000

The Intervention Blues

April 27, 2000

Behind the Blue Helmets

September 9, 1999

The Case Against Inaction

April 8, 1999

Albright's State Deportment

February 25, 1999