Annan's parting comments

Kofi Annan's disapproval of some of the US foreign policies is now well known. He, quite expectedly, took a jab at the superpower's foreign policies, particularly those pursued since the much-trumpeted War on Terror and invasion of Iraq. He was cautiously candid when he said that the US had confused its friends by compromising core ideals in the War on Terror. He went on to say that when the US abandons its own ideals and objectives, its friends abroad naturally get confused. He did send signals to the right quarters with those few words and we were not surprised when his fierce critics in the US Congress immediately brought up the issue of corruption in the UN and some of its policies that did not work out well.

It is understandable that his frustration stemmed from the fact that the organisation that was created to prevent and solve international crisis, to mediate between conflicting countries, and undertake humanitarian works in strife-torn areas, was elbowed out by the superpowers of the world on their way to fulfilling their own agenda. Iraq War and keeping the Middle-East crisis in a limbo are glaring examples of such disregard for world opinion.

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Kofi Annan, however, acknowledged the failure of the world community to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict that was the root cause of strife and resulting instability in the entire region. He urged the international players to take a regional and just approach through promoting "unconditional and open-ended talks" to resolve the conflicts between Israel and Palestine. But it remains to be seen how much his plea will fall on kind ears now that he is on his way out.

Kofi Annan will perhaps go down in history as a very frustrated former UN Secretary General.