David, France and Russia are being complete hypocrites.
I'm sorry, but this just completely irks me. Almost three years ago, Russia was pushing for the lifting of sanctions:
globalpolicy.org
Contrast this statement made in September, 2000:
In a recent letter to Kofi Annan, UN secretary general, Igor Ivanov, Russia's foreign minister, complained that the government was coming under increasing pressure from the "federal assembly, many social and political interests, and business and industrial circles . . .in favour of mitigating the limitations imposed on Russia by the sanctions in the field of its commercial and economic relations with Iraq."
with this statement made today (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/europe/view/37785/1/.html):
Separately, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said sanctions can't be removed until it is determined whether Iraq is free of banned weapons.
Yep, the exact same guy said this. Ivanov NEVER used the issue of WMD as a requirement for lifting the sanctions UNTIL NOW. That's right, NEVER.
Why are most people (except those considered to be part of the "extreme right") ignoring this? This is a complete outrage, and it only underscores the politics that are now turning the U.N. Security Council into a joke.
Tenchusatsu |
