What hasn't this guy screwed up?

[zenith-nadir]

Genocide, the biggest scandal in U.N. history....is he ignorant, crooked or just plain naïve?

Annan assumes responsibility for oil-for-food scandal - Wed Sep 7, 1:11 PM ET

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - UN chief UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - UN chief Kofi Annan said he assumed responsibility for serious management lapses in the oil-for-food program for Iraq, but the head of an independent probe into the scandal said member states and the Security Council must share the blame.

"The report is critical of me personally, and I accept its criticism," Annan told the Security Council...

UN chief's Rwanda genocide regret - 26 March, 2004

The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has said he could and should have done more to stop the genocide in Rwanda 10 years ago.

"I believed at that time that I was doing my best," he said. "But I realised after the genocide that there was more that I could and should have done to sound the alarm and rally support."

 

[a_unique_person]

Genocide, the biggest scandal in U.N. history....is he ignorant, crooked or just plain naïve?

Are you saying he is responsible for Rwanda?

 

[zenith-nadir]

Re: Re: What hasn't this guy screwed up?

Are you saying he is responsible for Rwanda?

Technically no, morally yes... Maj. Gen. Romeo Dallaire - head of a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Rwanda - pleaded with Annan to intervene before the killings began. Mr. Annan refused to act, or to say anything publicly. Over the course of 100 days more than 800,000 people were killed because Annan buried his head in the sand.

 

[JenJen]

Re: Re: What hasn't this guy screwed up?

Are you saying he is responsible for Rwanda?

Did you read the links? Have you paid attention to the news? Are you saying he doesn't have some responsibility?

Why is he Annan such a sacred cow?

Jen

 

[WildCat]

Re: Re: Re: What hasn't this guy screwed up?

Did you read the links? Have you paid attention to the news? Are you saying he doesn't have some responsibility?

Why is he Annan such a sacred cow?

Jen

Annan is not the sacred cow, he's the figurehead of the sacred cow. Neither can be criticized, because they mean well.

 

[JenJen]

Re: Re: Re: Re: What hasn't this guy screwed up?

Annan is not the sacred cow, he's the figurehead of the sacred cow. Neither can be criticized, because they mean well.

I agree with you.

But meaning well? They're just a bunch of politicians and, like our gov't, every thing they do/touch/feel/think is political.

Maybe you're just joshin' me.

Jen

 

[WildCat]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What hasn't this guy screwed up?

I agree with you.

But meaning well? They're just a bunch of politicians and, like our gov't, every thing they do/touch/feel/think is political.

Maybe you're just joshin' me.

Jen

Of course I am, should have used one of these:

 

[Skeptic]

Considering the UN is, essentially, a collection of thieves and murderers in suits, I fail to see the point of giving Annan any repect.

 

[JenJen]

Considering the UN is, essentially, a collection of thieves and murderers in suits, I fail to see the point of giving Annan any repect.

Didn't I just say that?

Jen

 

[The Fool]

Considering the UN is, essentially, a collection of thieves and murderers in suits, I fail to see the point of giving Annan any repect.

Are all nations UN contingents included in this generalisation or do you exclude some?

 

[Skeptic]

Well, generally speaking, the western delegates are usually not murderers (or murderer's relatives getting a gig from the dictator-for-life in New York City), but they are usually still thieves, as the Oil-for-Food scandal shows. The exception to the general thievery seems to be the English-speaking democracies' delegates.

 

[a_unique_person]

Re: Re: Re: Re: What hasn't this guy screwed up?

Annan is not the sacred cow, he's the figurehead of the sacred cow. Neither can be criticized, because they mean well.

I didn't ask if he was blameless, I asked if he was responsible.

If you read the reports, they don't just criticise Anan, who deserves criticism, but also the member states of the UN, and the security council. This relentless focus on Anan really does puzzle me.

 

[Charlie Monoxide]

Dang, I thought this was another Bush bashing thread ....

Charlie (yes, Annan is not overly competent as well) Monoxide

 

[zenith-nadir]

This relentless focus on Anan really does puzzle me.

Because he is the top guy at the U.N. a_u_p. It is his job to run and oversee the UN. Therefore, if the largest scandal in U.N. history happens under his watch he is responsible for it.

 

[a_unique_person]

Re: Re: What hasn't this guy screwed up?

Because he is the top guy at the U.N. a_u_p. It is his job to run and oversee the UN. Therefore, if the largest scandal in U.N. history happens under his watch he is responsible for it.

Perhaps the title 'secretary general' gives you some idea, he is not the president. The UN is supposed to be a world group of countries, Anan is the secretary of that group. He is not blameless, but the collective nations together are the real force of the organisation. He has no armed forces to control, for example.

 

[BPSCG]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What hasn't this guy screwed up?

I didn't ask if he was blameless, I asked if he was responsible.

If you read the reports, they don't just criticise Anan, who deserves criticism, but also the member states of the UN, and the security council. This relentless focus on Anan really does puzzle me.

I didn't ask if he was blameless, I asked if he was responsible.

If you read the reports, they don't just criticise Bush, who deserves criticism, but also the member states of the US, and the US Congress. This relentless focus on Bush really does puzzle me.

 

[phenomenon]

I think Bush should take some responsibility for the lateness of aid but also feel there are plenty more heads that should roll for the inadequate efforts post hurricane.

 

[JenJen]

Re: Re: What hasn't this guy screwed up?

Because he is the top guy at the U.N. a_u_p. It is his job to run and oversee the UN. Therefore, if the largest scandal in U.N. history happens under his watch he is responsible for it.

In the specific cases that we are talking about, Annan was directly responsible and was a decision (or lack of) maker. But, I agree, he's probably not the only one to blame for the organization being ineffective in their purpose and in their ability to self-regulate.

Jen

 

[zenith-nadir]

Re: Re: Re: What hasn't this guy screwed up?

Perhaps the title 'secretary general' gives you some idea, he is not the president. The UN is supposed to be a world group of countries, Anan is the secretary of that group. He is not blameless, but the collective nations together are the real force of the organisation. He has no armed forces to control, for example.

The Secretariat -- an international staff working in duty stations around the world -- carries out the diverse day-to-day work of the Organization. It services the other principal organs of the United Nations and administers the programmes and policies laid down by them. At its head is the Secretary-General, who is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a five- year, renewable term.

Annan is the boss, responsible for overseeing the programmes and policies laid down by the United Nations. Therefore if the largest scandal happens in UN history under his watch he is r-e-s-p-o-n-s-i-b-l-e for it.

 

[BPSCG]

Re: Re: Re: Re: What hasn't this guy screwed up?

Annan is the boss, responsible for overseeing the programmes and policies laid down by the United Nations. Therefore if the largest scandal happens in UN history under his watch he is r-e-s-p-o-n-s-i-b-l-e for it.

Well, this is kinda what I was getting at with my response to a_u_p just above. He raises a good point: Just because you are not blameless, it does not perforce follow that you are responsible.

I'm an employee of Uncle Sam. Sometimes (right at this very moment, ferinstance), I waste the taxpayers' money. The US government is running a deficit. I am partly to blame. But am I responsible for that deficit? Most sane people would say no, because no matter how efficiently I worked, even if i worked 24/7, there would still be a deficit. I'm not responsible for the deficit, because I can't significantly affect it.

Is Bush responsible for the mess in Nyawlins? Depends. Could he have prevented much of the misery that is now there? Does he have the power to alleviate much of that misery today? The president has a lot of power, but it's not unlimited, and what he orders gets implemented by people like... me. People who sometimes get onto websites and type deathless prose when they should be figuring out where those 400 missing records in the database went to. People who were working at their desks before the president ever came to Washington, and who will be there after he leaves.

And in the US, the president does not equal the government, as any US high-school kid or European junior-high kid or Japanese kindergartner can tell you. Checks and balances and all that.

Now, how does Annan compare? Does he have greater or less control over the operations of the UN than the president has over the operations of the US government?

That last is not a rhetorical question; I honestly don't know, and would be interested if anyone can point me somewhere that describes the governing process at the UN, particularly with respect to the powers delegated to the secretary-general.