More calls for UN's Koffi Annan to go

Sen. Norm Coleman writes in the Wall Street Journal "It's time for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to resign."

Since it was never likely that the U.N. Security Council, some of whose permanent members were awash in Saddam's favors, would ever call for Saddam's removal, the U.S. and its coalition partners were forced to put troops in harm's way to oust him by force. Today, money swindled from Oil-for-Food may be funding the insurgency against coalition troops in Iraq and other terrorist activities against U.S. interests. Simply put, the troops would probably not have been placed in such danger if the U.N. had done its job in administering sanctions and Oil-for-Food.

And from The Asia Times

Secretary General Annan had a blessed first term, but a second term that is turning into a nightmare. The mismanagement of the return of the UN to Iraq, alleged corruption in the oil-for-food program, and reported sexual harassment within the UN have coalesced in an unprecedented degree of staff antagonism toward Annan. The crisis has been compounded by what some have interpreted as an attempt by Annan to woo the John Kerry team with the hope of obtaining a third term if the Democrats had won the November US presidential election. The statement by Annan in September qualifying the Iraqi invasion as "illegal" was undoubtedly perceived by the administration of President George W Bush as a partisan one. That the former US ambassador to the UN, Richard Holbrooke, who had promoted Annan at the time of the Bill Clinton administration to the post of secretary general, was one of the main players on the Kerry foreign-policy team only fueled further suspicions in the Bush camp.

Much more here.

Hat tip InstaPundit
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