The annual UN General Assembly amounted to little more than a queue of world leaders delivering canned speeches. And even though none of them said anything of any consequence (Do they ever?), it would be remiss of me not to comment.
(“World Leaders Blow Hot Air…,” The iPINIONS Journal, September 26, 2007)
As this quote indicates, I have little regard for the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly; and even less for the speeches of the 193 heads of state, which begin today for this 67th session. The reason is that listening to world leaders address this assembly is rather like listening to U.S. presidential candidates address their 1,000th campaign rally. They never have anything new or meaningful to say.
For starters, the featured speakers this year will be the same ones who have dominated coverage of this event in recent years, namely, the leaders of Iran, Israel, and the United States. And each of them will say the very same things they’ve been saying for years:
Ahmadinejad of Iran will present his familiar threats about wiping Israel off the map; Netanyahu of Israel will present his familiar Chicken-Little warnings about Iran being just months away from acquiring the nukes to do so; and Obama of the United States will present his familiar admonitions to Iran about going nuclear and assurances to Israel about having its back. To be fair, there will also be a fair amount of pontificating by these and other leaders on such perennial topics as Palestinian statehood, poverty alleviation, and climate change.
Of course, as leader of the free world, Obama will also pay lip service to the historic transformation erupting in the Muslim world, and he will entreat Russia and China, plainly to no avail, to get on the right side of history in this respect. This is why Morsi of Egypt will get the residual attention usually reserved for rogue leaders like Chávez of Venezuela.
That’s it. In fact, I’d be surprised if the media even bothers to mention anything the leaders of “old Europe” (like Hollande of France) have to say, let alone what those from Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean have to say.
So when all is said and done, what transpires at this General Assembly will be no more memorable than what transpired at any gathering in recent years. And I would wager a fortune if anyone could cite anything of any substance that contradicts this assessment.
This is why Republicans want to get rid of the UN. But, despite my criticisms, I’m sensible enough to appreciate that it provides a quelling forum for sworn enemies, like Iran and Israel, to vent their enmities by hurling words instead of bombs at each other. As in:
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
All the same, for a little perspective and context on this gathering at the UN, consider this:
Celebrities from the world of politics, finance, and entertainment gathered in New York City to pledge financial commitments to the Clinton Global Initiative, the charitable foundation of former U.S. President Bill Clinton – that unrepentant political rogue who has assumed the role of Mother Teresa’s male counterpart (Father Bill?) rather persuasively…
Clinton did not seem the least bit conflicted by the fact that his celebrity fundraiser, which he schedules to coincide with the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly, made the United Nations seem even more irrelevant than his Republican critics claim it already is. Indeed, it is instructive to juxtapose Secretary General Kofi Annan commiserating with delegates about the unprecedented lack of interest shown these days in supporting UN operations with Clinton boasting to hordes of international reporters about the unprecedented amount of interest shown in supporting his foundation, which collected $8 billion in new pledges at this one-week gathering.
(“Friends of Bill…,” The iPINIONS Journal, October 30, 2006)
Incidentally, rumor had it that Clinton harbored ambitions of becoming secretary general of the UN as a follow-up to his presidency. But there seems little doubt that he’s wielding far more power and influence on the world stage as head of his own global foundation. In point of fact, there is far more media hype surrounding the speeches attendees, including Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, will be delivering at Clinton’s fundraiser than the speeches world leaders will be delivering at the UN this week.
That said, Obama is being roundly criticized for eschewing meetings with world leaders to appear with the catty women of The View. His only reason for doing so is to avoid any gaffe or awkwardness that Romney would surely exploit for partisan gain.
But, frankly, this is taking presidential campaigning to a conceited, cynical, and craven low. Yet, my disappointment in Obama is surpassed by my contempt for Republicans who are criticizing him for not holding meetings at a UN General Assembly that most of them are on record decrying as a complete waste of time in the first place.
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