French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin says the latest version of a United Nations Security Council resolution on Iraq shows that the world body "is back".
"We can consider that the UN is back, and at bottom that is now the key issue: to make sure that the UN can resume its place" in the handling of the Iraq crisis, he said. "We are convinced that the UN alone is capable of bringing its legitimacy, experience and effectiveness on the ground."
He cited the nomination of a UN "special representative", which is stipulated in the resolution, as a sign of the UN's increased role. "At the start there was only talk of a 'co-ordinator', of someone whose job was just to watch developments from the sidelines. But now there's a political role, an independent role," he said on French state-run radio.
| Ummm... A "special representative" would seem to have a somewhat less active role than a "coordinator." If you're the guy who does the coordinating, that kind of implies you have some sort of executive power. A special representative goes to meetings and looks distinguished, but all he does is wiggle his lips and try to present his owner's position for consideration. Or did I miss something? |
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