Matthew Rothschild: The UN Mirage In Iraq

The UN Mirage In Iraq
by Matthew Rothschild

Once again, the United Nations Security Council is letting itself be turned into a tool of the United States.

On August 3, it voted unanimously to adopt a resolution to expand the U.N.’s role in Iraq. The U.N. is now authorized to play a bigger role in national reconciliation, regional dialogue, and humanitarian assistance.

But there is much less there than meets the eye.

The U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expects to send all of thirty more U.N. personnel to Iraq. But the staff union at the U.N. opposes this, and even wants those currently in Iraq to be withdrawn until the safety situation there improves.

Sounding like a mouthpiece of the Bush Administration, the Secretary-General said he would urge “Iraqi government leaders to do their own part in promoting and engaging in inclusive political dialogue.”

This is the blame-Maliki first strategy, which Hillary Clinton has also signed on to.

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http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/08/11/3113/