December 16, 2003
Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari blasted the U.N. for their failure to adequately deal with Iraq:
"One year ago, the Security Council was divided between those who wanted to appease Saddam Hussein and those who wanted to hold him accountable," Zebari told the 15-nation council, which was sharply divided over the war.
Very apt words spoken to an organization which demands authority in Iraq yet refuses to maintain a presence there. Secretary General Kofi Annan did not agree with Zebari's comments:
"The UN as an organisation failed to help rescue the Iraqi people from a murderous tyranny of 35 years," he said. "The UN must not fail the Iraqi people again."
Annan, who publicly opposed the US decision to launch the war after failing to win the support of the Security Council, said it was "no time to pin blame and point fingers" over the past.
Unbelievable words from an increasingly unbelievable man.
"I think the UN has done as much as it can for Iraq," Annan told reporters. "So quite honestly I don't think today is the time to hurl accusations."
(Hat-tip to Right Thinking)
