Problems await Bush team at the U.N.

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

UNITED NATIONS, FEB. 12. The U.S. Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell, is travelling to the headquarters of the U.N. this week in what will be the first high-level meeting between the Bush administration and the world body. Gen. Powell will meet the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan and Ambassadors of major powers such as Britain, France, Russia and China.

The U.S. has not yet announced who will represent it at the Ambassador level in the U.N. The announcement may be made in time for the Secretary's visit this Wednesday. Just what is holding up the naming of the nominee is anyone's guess. One perception is that unlike his predecessor, Mr. Bill Clinton who gave Ms. Madeleine Albright, Mr. William Richardson and Mr. Richard Holbrooke Cabinet rankings, Mr. Bush is said to be not too keen on this precedent and would like the post to be under the Secretary of State - which Gen. Powell too favours.

Hence people like Ms. Elizabeth Dole, Cabinet official in the earlier Republican administration and head of Red Cross and Mr. Lee Hamilton, a respected former law maker are said to be not too interested in the U.N. slot. The latest name doing the rounds is that of Mr. Christopher Cox, Republican from California in the House of Representatives. The President cannot afford to keep the post vacant for too long given the challenges the U.S. and the world body face. For instance, when Mr. Powell comes calling at the U.N., there are too many issues to be discussed, and on many of these the U.S. does not see eye to eye with allies and adversaries alike. Diplomats here are looking at four major issues that the U.S. would have to pay close attention to in the immediate future - Iraq, the issue of sanctions, conflicts in Africa and Afghanistan. And on these issues, Washington has few friends in the U.N. with even allies seeing the positions as antiquated.

On the issue of Iraq and the ongoing sanctions, Washington is all too aware of the current thinking. The Bush administration is also aware of the ground realities and the fact that the sanctions regime is in tatters with countries like Russia, France and China and a growing number in the developing world clamouring for a change and threatening to proceed unilaterally if this was not forthcoming. The Bush administration has made it clear that while it is for a general review of the entire gamut of sanctions, the punitive measures will stand when it comes to countries like Cuba and Iraq. In the Security Council, the U.S. and Britain are being increasingly isolated with France, Russia and China calling for a lifting of the 10-year-old embargo against Baghdad.

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Section  : International
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