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Archive for 'UN/Oil-For-Food'

Tuesday, December 5th, 2006

Khalilzad To Leave Iraq…

…but for where?
Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, plans to leave his post and will be replaced by Ryan Crocker, the current ambassador to Pakistan, according to two officials familiar with the matter.
Khalilzad has been the U.S. point man in trying to restore security and stability to Iraq in the face of widening […]

No Comments » - Posted in Condoleezza Rice, Iraq, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Monday, December 4th, 2006

Don’t Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out

That’s the message Iraq’s national security advisor sends to Kofi Annan, long a favorite (*cough, cough*) of this blogger, regarding his recent comments that Iraq was better off under Saddam:
Iraq’s national security adviser says he is shocked by UN head Kofi Annan’s suggestion that the average Iraqi is worse off than under Saddam Hussein.
Mouwaffaq […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Iraq, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Monday, December 4th, 2006

Didn’t See That One Coming

John Bolton has resigned as UN Ambassador:
Unable to win Senate confirmation, U.N. Ambassador John Bolton will step down when his recess appointment expires soon, the White House said Monday.
Bolton’s nomination has languished in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for more than a year, blocked by Democrats and several Republicans. Sen. Lincoln Chafee, a moderate […]

2 Comments » - Posted in UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Thursday, November 23rd, 2006

The UN’s Selective Enforcement

This is truly an outrage:
French soldiers in Lebanon who feel threatened by aggressive Israeli overflights are permitted to shoot at IAF fighter jets, a high-ranking French military officer told The Jerusalem Post.
Wednesday, several days after meeting with an IDF general in Paris to discuss what he said was a “blatant violation of the cease-fire.” […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Israel, Radical Islam / GWOT, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006

Who Else Disagrees With The Lancet Numbers? The UN…

Now, don’t think I’m being coy here, because this number is truly horrific, but bear with me:
The United Nations said Wednesday that 3,709 Iraqi civilians were killed in October, the highest monthly toll since the March 2003 U.S. invasion and another sign of the severity of Iraq’s sectarian bloodbath.
The toll, and the accompanying article, are […]

17 Comments » - Posted in Iraq, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots®, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Tuesday, November 21st, 2006

UN OKs Hariri Tribunal…

…though whether Hezbollah and Syria can throw up enough obstructions to prevent it is still in the air:
The agreement by the U.N. and the Lebanese government, announced last week by Annan, would create a tribunal outside Lebanon with a majority of international judges and an international prosecutor. Annan said having more international than Lebanese judges […]

No Comments » - Posted in Foreign Affairs, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Tuesday, November 14th, 2006

Dissecting Blair’s Outreach To Syria And Iran

Has Tony Blair gone wobbly in calling for dialogue with Syria and Iran (in a prelude to what is widely expected to be a similar call in the Iraq Study Group report)? It’s not as bad as you think…and it’s worse than you think.
The overall approach is entirely sensible. Said Blair:
“It is a perfectly straightforward […]

5 Comments » - Posted in Iran, Israel, POTUS, Radical Islam / GWOT, Iraq, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Tuesday, November 14th, 2006

A Triple Dose Of Bad News From The Middle East…

…and I’m not talking about Iraq. First, Hamas makes it clear that it is perfectly content to let the Palestinian people suffer rather than give Israel the barest shred of compromise:
The ruling Islamic group Hamas said on Tuesday a planned Palestinian unity government would not recognize Israel or accept a two-state solution to the Middle […]

No Comments » - Posted in Israel, Iran, Radical Islam / GWOT, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Monday, November 13th, 2006

Ohlmert: Tough Talk For Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is in Washington this week and sat down for a Q&A with Newsweek. Interesting exchange on Iran:
How do you see the threat posed by Iran?
President Ahmadinejad is a man who is ready to commit crimes against humanity, and he has to be stopped. My position is clear. If there can […]

No Comments » - Posted in Israel, Iran, POTUS, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Friday, November 10th, 2006

Two More Casualties Of The Tuesday Blowout

One thing is clear: John Bolton WILL NOT be confirmed as UN Ambassador (remember, he was a recess appointment - if he couldn’t through under better circumstances, he won’t get through now).
We also are saying goodbye to a good man who did a LOT for the Republican Party. Ken Mehlman was widely rumored to be […]

10 Comments » - Posted in Election 2006, In Praise Of, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Friday, October 27th, 2006

Bush’s Greatest Failure

There can be no two ways about it, whether you’re a fan of the president (as I am) or one of his many detractors: the plain fact is that our North Korean policy has been an abject failure. Clearly, we will get no help from China or South Korea; the situation, once again, falls into […]

6 Comments » - Posted in North Korea, POTUS, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Friday, October 27th, 2006

Iran Ups The Ante Again

No doubt knowing full well that no one will do a damn thing about it:
US President George W Bush says the international community must “redouble” efforts to prevent Iran obtaining nuclear weapons.
He spoke after reports Iran had stepped up work to enrich uranium by activating a second cascade of centrifuges at its Natanz plant. […]

No Comments » - Posted in Iran, POTUS, Radical Islam / GWOT, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Tuesday, October 24th, 2006

No Apology

China confirmed today that North Korea DID NOT apologize for the their nuclear test (like it would have really mattered):
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has not apologized for a nuclear test but said he had no plans for a second test while reserving Pyongyang’s options if the crisis escalates, China said on Tuesday.
Kim’s nuclear test […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Iran, North Korea, Radical Islam / GWOT, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Tuesday, October 17th, 2006

China’s Problem? Maybe…But It’s Ours, Too

Anne Applebaum says North Korea is China’s problem:
Conventional wisdom says that if U.N. sanctions don’t work, there is nothing to be done about North Korea’s nuclear weapons — short of firebombing Pyongyang, thereby ensuring the obliteration of Seoul. Yet the problem of a nuclear North Korea is not actually insoluble, provided a certain very large […]

No Comments » - Posted in North Korea, Foreign Affairs, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Monday, October 16th, 2006

China Isn’t Serious About The Nuclear Threat

And neither is South Korea:
Questions over the effectiveness of the Security Council’s punitive sanctions on North Korea for its claimed nuclear test grew Sunday, as both South Korea and China — the North’s two most important trading partners — indicated that business and economic relations would be largely unaffected.
A day after the Council unanimously passed […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Israel, Iran, North Korea, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Sunday, October 15th, 2006

The Ol’ Good News - Bad News

The bad news is very bad, indeed, and the Washington Post is right on the money:
THE MOST critical question following North Korea’s reported nuclear test is whether anything can be done to stop other states or terrorist groups from acquiring such weapons in coming years. Can North Korea be prevented from exporting its nukes? Is […]

No Comments » - Posted in Iran, North Korea, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Saturday, October 14th, 2006

Well, It’s A Start

Thank God that at least some action is being taken:
The U.N. Security Council on Saturday unanimously agreed to sanctions against North Korea in response to the country’s claimed nuclear test.
The vote was scheduled soon after negotiators agreed on the sticking point of cargo inspections, the language over which China had expressed some concerns earlier.
Rather than […]

1 Comment » - Posted in North Korea, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Saturday, October 14th, 2006

The UN Fiddles…Well, You Know The Rest

It is with a heavy heart and a tightening of the chest that I note that today’s scheduled UN vote on North Korean sanction is in danger of being torpedoed by Russia and China:
Despite winning key concessions, Russia and China raised new objections that could delay a vote Saturday on a U.N. Security Council resolution […]

No Comments » - Posted in Iran, North Korea, POTUS, Foreign Affairs, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Friday, October 13th, 2006

No Nukes?

Sources are leaking results that indicate no radiation from the North Korean explosion last weekend:
Results from an initial air sampling after North Korea’s announced nuclear test showed no evidence of radioactive particles that would be expected from a large nuclear detonation, a U.S. government intelligence official said Friday.
The test results do not necessarily mean the […]

1 Comment » - Posted in North Korea, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Friday, October 13th, 2006

The North Korean Disaster

Writing in the Times of London, Gerard Baker explains why North Korea’s nuclear status is so much worse than that of those who preceded it:
Stripped of the grandiose claims by Kim’s minions, the objective scientific evidence for a nuclear explosion is sketchy. The explosive yield, according to military analysts, was something less than a kiloton. A […]