UN approves expanded Iraq mission:

[Praxius]

BBC NEWS | Middle East | UN approves expanded Iraq mission

CTV.ca | Security Council OKs expanded Iraq role

The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution calling for a greater UN mandate in Iraq.
The UN withdrew most of its staff in 2003 after a bomb attack on its Baghdad headquarters killed its top envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and 21 others.

But the UN Staff Council has called on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to pull all UN personnel out of the country until security improves.

The union can resist a further deployment of staff in Iraq.

The staff union believes UN personnel will not be properly protected by US-led forces in the country.

Advisory role

The resolution extends the mandate of the UN mission in Iraq for a year and gives the UN a more powerful advisory role in Iraq.

It will pave the way for the UN special envoy in Iraq to support and assist the Iraqi government in political, economic, electoral, and constitutional matters, and help settle disputed internal boundaries

The UN mission would also be asked to promote human rights and judicial and legal reforms and to assist the Iraqi government in planning for a national census.

The number of UN staff in Iraq would be raised from 65 to 95.

But correspondents say there will be limits as to how much the UN can do on the ground.

The US ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, has said that the UN could play a positive role in facilitating dialogue between rival factions in Iraq, especially those that refuse to talk directly to the US.

"This is an effort to internationalise the effort to assist Iraqis overcome their internal difference, and to assist the neighbours by bringing them together to help Iraq rather than add to Iraq's problems," Mr Khalilzad told the Associated Press news agency.

Some observers have said that the expanded UN mission is a way for the Bush administration to get the international community to pick up the pieces in Iraq after years of chaos.

But supporters of the move, including at the UN, believe this may promote progress in Iraq and help break the political deadlock there.

Indeed, this was garunteed to occur regardless.... Bush went to go in, the UN disaporved the idea, they went in anyways, crap hit the fan, now Bush is holding the fort until the UN feels too many people are dieing or suffering and takes over..... typical..... I swear I knew this was gonna happen before they even invaded.

But hey.... I guess one can not complain..... it's a chance to possibly fix what's going on over there.... since the US authorities have no clue.

[Nono]

... until the UN feels too many people are dieing or suffering and takes over..... typical.....

Prax, what is the UN exactly? If you stopped to think about it you'd realize it's nothing but the sum total of the governments of the countries that belong to it. The richest and most powerful -- especially the five permanent members of the Security Council -- are the most influential.

Lots of people on this board refer to the UN as if it were some sort of independent entity. What bullshit.

If the Security Council has decided something, that means that the US voted in favour.
So if the UN is going to have the thankless task of taking on a bigger role in Iraq, it's because the US wants to back off. That's called rats fleeing a burning ship.

[Praxius]

Prax, what is the UN exactly? If you stopped to think about it you'd realize it's nothing but the sum total of the governments of the countries that belong to it. The richest and most powerful -- especially the five permanent members of the Security Council -- are the most influential.

Lots of people on this board refer to the UN as if it were some sort of independent entity. What bullshit.

If the Security Council has decided something, that means that the US voted in favour.
So if the UN is going to have the thankless task of taking on a bigger role in Iraq, it's because the US wants to back off. That's called rats fleeing a burning ship.

100% agree.... I totally understand this, and I think it's the only thing that's gonna work and I knew was going to happen someday..... the only other option was a complete withdrawl and then eveybody would moan about more people dieing..... so as I have been saying for the last couple of years, the UN was eventually going to have to step in more then it has.......

Rats fleeding the burning ship? You hit the nail on the head

[Gods_Mercenary]

I'm not sure how the U.N. plans to fix it, unless they think that the insurgents are less likely to blow up French and other countries' soldiers.
But I do like the idea of at least having an entity in Iraq that can provide another assessment than the one we're getting from Bush, and that can oppose Bush policy once in a while.

[Arawn-ap-Hywel]

a UN presence pls possible introduction of UN peace corps can only aid

this will enable US & UK forces to pull away from the embarressment created by Bush & Blair (the sooner those two are prosecuted the better)

[Technosoul]

All the more intelligent people have migrated out of Iraq and so all the UN will find there now are the poorist people who had no means to get out with, and the armed radicals. Perhaps if they can resolve this "problem" we can have the UN forces do the same here in our urban gang infested poor neighborhoods.

[grandpa]

I take it this has something to do with current information:
Iraqi Sunni claims 'genocide campaign' - Yahoo! News

BAGHDAD - Iraq's most senior Sunni politician issued a desperate appeal Sunday for Arab nations to help stop what he called an "unprecedented genocide campaign" by Shiite militias armed, trained and controlled by Iran. The U.S. military reported five American soldiers were killed, apparently lured into an al-Qaida trap.

Menawhile, as a side note, here are some pictures from Iraq:
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/articl...-photos-1q2007

Grandpa h.

[Praxius]

I'm not sure how the U.N. plans to fix it, unless they think that the insurgents are less likely to blow up French and other countries' soldiers.
But I do like the idea of at least having an entity in Iraq that can provide another assessment than the one we're getting from Bush, and that can oppose Bush policy once in a while.

I personally thing the UN might have a better chance, based on their reputation and past history.

With the US, they have already proven to have only one understanding and logic.... which is the US logic.... which is fine for the US and the western world, but not in Iraq..... the UN which at least has the image of a collective balance between countries, may appear to the insurgents as something that may have more experience in muslim ways and what may be best for that area of the world. If the UN does things right, perhaps (Not for sure) they may be able to open a more balanced dialog with the insurgents and determine what is a balanced approach to what everybody needs to resolve this conflict and possibly bring about peace.

Right now, the Insurgents have no trust or likes to the US ocupation, and have already been shown that the US military and operations there do not want to co-operate to their best abilities with these people to come to an end result.

Now mind you, these chances are not that much better then what's going on now.... but one can wish..... and wishing these days seems about as sucessful as any of Bush's plans thus far.

[Gods_Mercenary]

I agree that the U.S. soldiers do have an unfortunate image as a conqueror, because they were, whether they had good intentions or not, and so a natural enmity can exist between the iraqis and U.S. soldiers. In this way, maybe they'd prefer a blueberry to a leatherneck.

[Nono]

I'm not sure how the U.N. plans to fix it.

I'm sure nobody at the UN has any illusions about "fixing it" (which sets them apart from certain dreamers in Washington I suppose), but it may be the 'least worst' option at this point.

[Gods_Mercenary]

Hey, least worst is better than sitting there doing the same thing we are now. The surge certainly doesn't seem to be reducing violence, maybe it is doing some good at street level in every day life, but determined insurgents aren't going to care if there's a few more targets with guns sitting on the side of the street, and it's tiring out an already stretched army, national guard, and marine corps.

[PatrickHenry]

The US won't be leaving.

Iraq is now a US client (puppet) state.

The airbases will remain NO MATTER WHAT.

Well, come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in ....