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December 10, 2006

Fractured Reflections Black and White

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In his op-ed piece on December 8, 2006, (rescued from the bowels of the New York Times archives by the folks at Smirking Chimp) Paul Krugman recognizes the prescient leaders who spoke out against the invasion of Iraq, and were so badly discredited at the time.

Krugman left out one very important person, Kofi Annan. The BBC's Lyse Doucet interviewed Kofi Annan recently, on his departure as Secretary General of the United Nations. She was, I thought, inordinately tough on him, pressing him about the oil for food scandal, his "inactions", his inability to prevent the Iraq war, his relationship to George W. Bush, Darfur, his depression (which was appropriate-- would that W. would have the psychological depth to experience depression). Kofi Annan is a man of principle, which is consistent and overriding. It shines through in this interview --a tribute to his life's work.

To Annan, world peace requires effort by groups working together for the common good. He feels that it is the responsibility of leaders to acknowledge and respect differences, to encourage dialog, and to avoid contributing to polarization.

Photo note: Black and white, fractures and factions, quite a few teeth, maybe on the canvas of a diplomatic limo, but that would be too far fetched

Posted by Dakota at December 10, 2006 07:58 AM