Ian Williams, formerly UN correspondent for The Nation, is the author of Rum: A Social and Sociable History of the Real Spirit of 1776; The Deserter: Bush’s War on Military Families, Veterans and His Past; The Alms Trade; and The UN For Beginners.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.