From the Financial Times comes this tale of woe from Kofi Annan:
UN chief Kofi Annan warns of nuclear catastrophe
An international conference on the future of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty opened on Monday with demands from the US and its allies that Iran and North Korea give up and dismantle nuclear programmes that could be adapted to deliver weapons.
Accusing Iran and North Korea--which the US has accused of forming an �axis of evil� - of being in breach of the 1970 treaty, the US delegation reiterated proposals by George W. Bush, US president, for closing NPT �loopholes�.
Such states should be denied assistance in developing their civilian nuclear programmes, Stephen Rademaker, assistant secretary of state for arms control, told the NPT review conference, held every five years.
Kofi Annan, UN secretary-general, warned the 188 parties to the treaty that a nuclear catastrophe would have global consequences. But he also reminded the five nuclear-armed states that are signatories of their duty to make progress in reducing their arsenals. Hey Kofi -- this problem you are warning us about happened on your watch and it would not be a problem if the United Nations has exhibited proper leadership and shown some teeth in its Nuclear or its Human Rights program. You need to find the problem and you can start by talking a long look in a mirror sometime... I'll give you a big hint -- the problem is not the USA.
An international conference on the future of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty opened on Monday with demands from the US and its allies that Iran and North Korea give up and dismantle nuclear programmes that could be adapted to deliver weapons.
Accusing Iran and North Korea--which the US has accused of forming an �axis of evil� - of being in breach of the 1970 treaty, the US delegation reiterated proposals by George W. Bush, US president, for closing NPT �loopholes�.
Such states should be denied assistance in developing their civilian nuclear programmes, Stephen Rademaker, assistant secretary of state for arms control, told the NPT review conference, held every five years.
Kofi Annan, UN secretary-general, warned the 188 parties to the treaty that a nuclear catastrophe would have global consequences. But he also reminded the five nuclear-armed states that are signatories of their duty to make progress in reducing their arsenals. Hey Kofi -- this problem you are warning us about happened on your watch and it would not be a problem if the United Nations has exhibited proper leadership and shown some teeth in its Nuclear or its Human Rights program. You need to find the problem and you can start by talking a long look in a mirror sometime... I'll give you a big hint -- the problem is not the USA.
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