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Ban's Balancing Act
By BENNY AVNI
The New York Sun
January 8, 2007
For Turtle Bay-watchers, key appointments already made by Secretary-General Ban seem less than inspiring. As the TV infomercial says, but wait, the hard-working South Korean diplomat may yet lead a U.N. revolution.
Mr. Ban plans to reshape the political orientation of the institution by appointing an American — the name I hear is Washington's ambassador to Indonesia, Burton Lynn Pascoe — as his undersecretary-general for political affairs.
He also wants to break in two the burgeoning peacekeeping department: France will continue to head the operational unit, while Japan will lead a brand-new logistical support department.
If successful, these changes may offset some disappointing appointments made so far. On Friday, Mr. Ban named as his deputy a Tanzanian foreign minister, Asha-Rose Migiro, who recently defended Iran's nuclear pursuit and — while the West mulled sanctions against the mullahs — called for better commercial ties between her uranium-mining country and Tehran.
Click here for the full story.
Senator Tom Coburn
Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security
340 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-2254 Fax: 202-228-3796
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