| An enjoyable, long article describing in detail how Kofi threw away all the promise and goodwill he had at the start of his tenure as Secretary General. Hat tip Orrin Judd. |
But the new secretary-general will inherit an organisation in deep trouble; and much of the blame for this can be laid at the door of the outgoing secretary-general, Kofi Annan. Six months ago, Annan's waning credibility was dealt a death blow by the UN general assembly. By an overwhelming majority, including most developing countries, the member states rejected his last reform proposal, aimed at placating a hostile America.
Following the vote, the African daily Fraternité Matin called Annan “the African who tries to please his white masters.” For Annan it was a watershed. Having reaped the resentment of the Bush administration for not having supported the war in Iraq and the hostility of the Arab world for not having opposed it, Annan had now achieved the ultimate indignity; the scorn of the continent he represented.