Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS – After declining in the post-cold war era of the early 1990s, global military spending is on the rise again – threatening to break the one trillion dollar barrier this year, according to a group of UN-appointed military experts. The 16-member group estimates that military spending will rise to nearly $950 billion by … Continue reading “US Accounts for Global Surge in Military Spending”

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations, which is supposed to prepare the groundwork for nationwide elections in Iraq next January, is unlikely to send an electoral team to supervise the polls unless its workers are heavily protected in the violence-prone country, according to a report released Monday. But the absence of UN monitors could jeopardize … Continue reading “UN Says Its Absence in Iraq Could Jeopardize Fair Elections”

UNITED NATIONS – Iraq’s U.S.-installed interim government, which is planning to spend some two billion dollars on its military this year, has declared it is too poor to pay 14.6 million dollars it owes the United Nations. “Iraq was not in a position to pay what it owed to the United Nations, although it hopes … Continue reading “UN Bureaucrats Angry Over Iraq’s Refusal to Pay Dues”

UNITED NATIONS – The United States and Britain are being accused of undermining the work of international humanitarian organizations in Afghanistan by misusing aid to advance their military interests. "There are times when aid agencies need the support of the military – as in Bosnia – but we are concerned about the increased involvement of … Continue reading “Humanitarian Groups: US, UK Subverting Afghan Relief Aid”

UNITED NATIONS – The dramatic increase in kidnappings of foreign nationals in Iraq is threatening to undermine the creation of a new multinational security force aimed at protecting UN employees and humanitarian workers who are planning to return to the violence-ridden country. “We have had no concrete offers of troops from any country,” a UN … Continue reading “No Troops Yet Offered for UN Force in Iraq”

UNITED NATIONS – Despite the positive responses Monday from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and members of the Security Council who praised the U.S. “transfer of sovereignty” to an interim government in Iraq, Middle East experts and political analysts dismiss the regime change in Baghdad as a “monumental fraud.” “The truth is that Iraqi sovereignty is … Continue reading “Regime Change in Iraq a Sham, Say Mideast Experts”

UNITED NATIONS – Faced with the prospect of a humiliating defeat, the United States abandoned its proposal to seek Security Council exemption for U.S. soldiers from possible war crime charges in future UN peacekeeping operations overseas. Unable to muster the necessary nine votes in the 15-member Security Council, Washington jettisoned the draft resolution Wednesday following … Continue reading “US Abandons War Crimes Exemption”

UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – As violence against civilians and humanitarian workers escalates in the world’s politically troubled regions, the United Nations and major relief groups continue to shy away from countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or to significantly downsize their emergency operations. “We have no plans to return … Continue reading “Aid Agencies Forced to Leave War Zones”

UNITED NATIONS, June 9 (IPS) – After securing a unanimous U.N. Security Council resolution supposedly granting "full sovereignty" to Iraqis, the United States is shifting its focus to winning a second decision that would protect its troops from possible war crimes prosecution. The original resolution granting immunity to U.S. peacekeepers was first adopted by the … Continue reading “One Down, US Seeks Second UN Resolution”

UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – When U.S. President George W. Bush desperately sought UN assistance last month to organise elections in Iraq and help form a new interim government, some senior UN officials bragged the United States was crawling back to the world body on bended knee. But quickly the shoe has moved to the other … Continue reading “UN’s Integrity Questioned – Again”