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Politics-An Incestuous Business
Posted by Maggie (Guest) - Thursday, September 15 2005, 21:12:55 (CEST)
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Now that Bush is under heavy scrutiny and his ratings are dropping heavily, he needs the United Nations!

What happened Mr. Bush? Could it be that you failed miserably on your own, now you need the blessings of the UN to continue your dirty work?


September 15, 2005 latimes

THE WORLD
Bush, Annan Tout the Role of the U.N.
The president surprises summit delegates by reversing U.S. positions that nearly sank talks.

By Maggie Farley and Warren Vieth, Times Staff Writers


UNITED NATIONS — In a rare show of unity after a bruising week for the U.N., President Bush joined U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday in saying that no country can stand alone against the 21st century challenges of terrorism, disease and natural disasters.

Both leaders also chided the world body's member nations for blocking key reforms aimed at making the United Nations more able to tackle those challenges, even though many diplomats felt the U.S. was one of the countries responsible.


But Bush also surprised delegates by reversing U.S. stances on trade and development that had nearly scuttled weeks of negotiation on the reforms.

"To spread a vision of hope, the United States is determined to help nations that are struggling with poverty," Bush said. "We are committed to the Millennium Development Goals."

Those goals include cutting poverty and hunger in half, ensuring universal education and stemming the spread of AIDS by 2015.

"In this young century, the far corners of the world are linked more closely than ever before, and no nation can remain isolated and indifferent to the struggles of others," Bush said in a keynote speech at the opening of the three-day World Summit.

In an address that was at once global and aimed at home, Bush noted that the United States was in the unusual position of receiving aid from abroad after Hurricane Katrina, and thanked the 115 nations that had offered money and help.

"The world is more compassionate and hopeful when we act together," Bush said. "This truth was the inspiration for the United Nations."

Although Washington had endorsed the eight Millennium Development Goals at the 2000 summit and again in the so-called Monterrey Consensus statement, U.S. negotiators feared that targets related to the goals would require the U.S. to increase foreign aid.

The goals were restored at the last minute in a U.S.-crafted compromise that saved the talks from collapse.

Nonetheless, delegates and U.N. officials had not expected Bush to publicly endorse the goals in front of more than 150 world leaders.

"That was a big deal," said Mark Malloch Brown, Annan's chief of staff and the former head of the U.N. Development Program. "They are not standing in the way of it, and that is real progress."

Some diplomats saw Bush's emphasis on development as an attempt to defuse the sentiment here that the United States was one of the spoilers of the summit document, which now falls far short of Annan's original ambitions.

Or, quipped one diplomat, perhaps Hurricane Katrina made him suddenly aware of the dire effects of poverty.

Reversing another U.S. negotiating stance, Bush also called for the removal of trade barriers and farm subsidies that prevent poor nations from selling their goods.

"The United States is ready to eliminate all tariffs, subsidies and other barriers to free flow of goods and services as other nations do the same," he said.

Bush and Annan expressed their disappointment that a summit accord passed grudgingly by the General Assembly on Tuesday did not go further.

The stripped-down document omits key proposals on nuclear disarmament and trade and defers details on human rights, terrorism and U.N. reform.

World leaders are expected to adopt it Friday, the last day of the summit.

Bush aimed his strongest criticism at the failure to establish criteria for membership in a new human rights council to replace the U.N. Human Rights Commission, which has included among its members alleged violators such as Libya and Sudan.

"When this great institution's member states choose notorious abusers of human rights to sit on the U.N. Human Rights Commission, they discredit a noble effort and undermine the credibility of the whole organization," Bush said. "If member nations want the United Nations to be respected and effective, they should begin by making sure it is worthy of respect."

Annan expressed greater concern about the failure to include in the final document any reference to nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, calling it "our biggest tragedy and our biggest failure." The Bush administration opposed language that called for nuclear powers to reduce their weapons stockpiles.

In what appeared to be a jab at the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Annan cautioned, "Even the strongest among us cannot succeed alone…. We cannot succeed without the leadership of the strong and the engagement of all."

Compared with previous Bush speeches in which he demanded that the U.N. confront Iraq or stand aside, Wednesday's address seemed almost conciliatory.

"He found the themes that resonate with the international community," said Jean-Marie Guehenno, the head of peacekeeping at the U.N. "The emphasis on poverty and development was certainly noticed and welcomed."

But what Bush didn't mention — Afghanistan, Sudan and the Middle East — also resonated. The president did not focus on the U.S. use of power, or the U.N. role in rebuilding new governments and societies that have been disrupted by conflict.

After his address, Bush met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. In brief remarks to reporters, he praised Sharon's courage in removing Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip.

The president then participated in a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, which adopted a resolution banning the incitement of terrorism and calling for action to share intelligence, restrict cross-border movement and freeze financing for terrorist organizations.

Human rights groups fear the wide-ranging resolution could be used to censor inflammatory media and deport political opponents cast as extremists.

Separately, Bush signed a new international accord to deter nuclear terrorism and participated in the launch of the U.N. Democracy Fund, designed to help developing nations build democratic institutions.



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