Were we (supposedly) campaigning secretly for, or against, this guy's elevation to Secretary-General? I remember there was some U.S. involvement at the time, and that we had strong "druthers" and were twisting arms.
Then there was his ouster, described in this L.A. Times quote from last January -- the problem being the veracity and reliability of the person quoted:
In his book Against All Enemies, former White House advisor Richard A. Clarke details how he and then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright conspired to oust the contentious Boutros Boutros-Ghali and install the more conciliatory Annan.It was "a secret plan we had called Operation Orient Express, reflecting our hope that many nations would join us in doing in the U.N. head. In the end, the U.S. had to do it alone," he wrote.
[Emphasis added.]
On the other hand, the quote reminds us where we got Kofi Annan.
Yuck.
Oh, and then there's this pearl, from the same story:
Although there is an unwritten agreement that no one from a permanent member of the Security Council can hold the post because it would concentrate too much power with one country, a campaign pushing former President Clinton gained momentum with a Harper's magazine cover article this month insisting that only he can revive the U.N. and its "sense of relevance to Americans."
How very interesting. The guy who put up Kofi Annan is now being bruited in New York-based magazines as Kofi Annan's successor.
Which would fulfill the observation of some friends of mine, that this denouement matches the descriptions they've seen of the coming of the Antichrist.
Did you know about the press campaign for Slick as Secretary General?
Clinton, Clarke (who previously had been fired by Secretary of State Baker) and their pack of putzes despised B-B Ghali. The Marines had finished up the successful Operation Restore Hope in January 1993 and they were poised to return home. However, Clinton wanted assurances that UN troops would handle it from there. B-B anwered truthfully that he had no cofidence that he could round-up a UN force (or pay for it), and the only guarantee that southern Somalia might have a modicum of peace would result from a U.S. military presence. Basically, B-B, who had no partiuclar love for Somalia was arguing that the UN couldn't guarantee the peace. Clinton then dithered, opted for nation-building, and the rest, as the saying goes, is history.