Annan says farewell with a swipe at Bush

[spindrifter]

The Times December 12, 2006

James Bone in New York

Kofi Annan used a farewell speech yesterday as United Nations Secretary-General to accuse the United States of abandoning its own ideals in the War on Terror.

In his last major policy address, the UN chief reiterated his criticism of the Iraq war and implied doubts about the leadership of President Bush.

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Mr Annan travelled to Washington last week for a private farewell dinner with Mr Bush, Mr Bolton and Mr Malloch Brown and their wives. Afterwards, the everhawkish Mr Bolton said: “Nobody sang Kumbaya.” Told of Mr Bolton’s comment, Mr Annan laughed and asked: “But does he know how to sing it?”

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Noting that America had historically taken the lead on human rights, he (Annan) issued a warning about the US role in the wake of revelations about secret prisons, the Guantanamo Bay detention centre and torture at Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq. “That lead can only be maintained if America remains true to its principles, including in the struggle against terrorism. When it appears to abandon its own ideals and objectives, its friends abroad are naturally troubled and confused,” he said. In an apparent reference to the invasion of Iraq, Mr Annan asserted that all states must play by the rules towards each other. “No state can make its own actions legitimate in the eyes of others,” he said.

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2499912,00.html