Do As I Say…

Kofi Annan plans to give the United States the finger in his farewell address. USA Today reports:

In a farewell speech on U.S. soil today, retiring United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan plans to deliver a tough critique of President Bush’s policies. He will accuse the administration of trying to secure the United States from terrorism in part by dominating other nations through force, committing what he termed human rights abuses and taking military action without broad international support.

Though Annan has long been a critic of the war in Iraq and other Bush foreign policies, the planned speech is among his toughest and is unusual for a U.N. secretary-general concluding his tenure.

Annan’s remarks, provided to USA TODAY by his office, list principles for international relations, among them “respect for human rights and the rule of law.”

These ideas can be advanced only “if America remains true to its principles, including in the struggle against terrorism,” the speech says. “When it appears to abandon its own ideals and objectives, its friends abroad are naturally troubled and confused.”

Like Kofi Annan knows anything about remaining true to principles? He leaves behind a feckless, corrupted, global bureaucracy incapable of policing the predators in its ranks, unwilling to stand up to evil, and useless in the struggle against terrorism–or any other global threat.

And it’s all President Bush’s and America’s fault.

Good riddance to you and your wagging finger, Kofi Annan. You will not be missed.

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Betsy Newmark: “I wonder if he’ll mention the whole oil for food scandal that occurred under his leadership in which UN officials were raking in kickbacks from Saddam Hussein. Or will he talk about abuses of human rights in Rwanda and Darfur? Or mention the terrorists who kill civilians or hide behind civilians every single day?”

Ed Morrissey dissects Annan’s Washington Post op-ed:

Come on, WaPo — level with us. Claudia Rosett wrote this as a spoof, right?

There’s plenty more laughs in Annan’s goodbye screed. He tries to use Hillary Clinton’s outline for It Takes A Village by telling readers that we are all responsible for each other’s security, and that we are all responsible for each other’s welfare. I’m sure that the people dying in Darfur will take great comfort in those words, in which the outgoing UN chief invokes them alongside the word “genocide” but manages to avoid applying it directly to them. Rwanda’s victims also would second Annan’s words, if any of them remained alive.

He then goes on to mention the rule of law and the need for states to play by the rules. However, in his quest for accountability, he fails to mention what consequences should come from failures to do so. We wanted to hold Saddam accountable for twelve years of intransigence in relation to 16 UN Security Council resolutions — and Annan opposed the effort. We want to hold Iran accountable for its defiance of the non-proliferation treaty — and Annan has little to say about that as well.

Accountability. Annan. Not exactly two terms one would tie together in UN history. This laughable attempt by Annan to do so will not succeed in anything except providing a much-needed laugh to Post readers.

At least he was good for something.