IRAN: Will Obama meet Khatami at Turkey confab? Babylon & Beyond ^ | Apr 5 2009 | Borzou Daragahi
Posted on 4/6/2009 11:52:43 AM by forkinsocket
Iranian and Turkish media are all abuzz about the possibility that President Obama and former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami might meet at a U.N.-sponsored conference in Turkey this week.
Hurriyet, the big Turkish daily, is reporting that since both men are expected to attend the Alliance of Civilizations conference in Istanbul on Monday and Tuesday, the odds of a chance encounter are high, although noting that "it was not clear as of yesterday if the two would be at the summit at the same time."
Iran's conservative Mehr News Agency cited a close aide to Khatami as saying that "most probably" on the second day of the summit "a short talk will be held between" Khatami and Obama. (Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
Thank you.
Posted on 11/22/2005 11:18:40 PM by Ooh-Ah
NEW YORK — After the epic disaster of , one might imagine the United Nations would tread carefully before launching any new and controversial efforts. Hardly.
Still reeling from scandals on many fronts, the U.N. has launched another questionable initiative, called the , which is due to hold its first meeting this weekend in Spain. The program has been widely touted by U.N. Secretary-General as a bridge across cultural and religious divides, but it involves a daisy-chain of dubious associations that casts serious doubt both on the project itself and on the U.N.’s ability to cut loose from the scandals of the past decade.
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But one lane of the bridge is a lot wider than the other: the panel of 18 “eminent persons” whom Annan named to the Alliance (a 19th, representing all of East Asia, has yet to be named) is weighted heavily on the side of Islamic states,....There are two representatives from the U.S., but none from Israel.
Nor is it exactly clear what the Alliance is intended to accomplish. According to a statement issued by Annan in July, the Alliance is supposed to “overcome prejudice, misconceptions, misperceptions, and polarization” and assemble by late next year an action plan meant “to promote effective responses to emerging threats to world peace.” But in the short term, the Alliance has so far been mainly busy hiring its own secretariat on an initial budget of $3.7 million, and preparing for the first meeting of its ‘High-level Group” this weekend in Majorca, Spain.
Beyond its hazy mandate and vague chain of command — both similar to some of the flaws in U.N. methods criticized by investigation of the Oil-for-Food scandal — the most striking things about the Alliance are the close aides Annan has used to organize and supervise the venture. (Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...