U.N. Assembly: Serious Meeting - or No?

Rundown of This Year's General Assembly Meeting; Nuclear Ambitions, Challenges to Peace and Spotlight-Hogging

(CBS)  It would be easy to dismiss the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly as a stage for those who seek only the spotlight. Very easy.

Look no further than Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi who held the podium for an hour and a half this week as he rambled through remarks which included taking a copy of the United Nations charter and tossing it aside. Qadhafi also said the U.N. Security Council should be called the “Terror Council.” Go figure.

Then there was Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez who played off his own remarks from 2006 when, alluding to then-President George W. Bush speaking at the same podium, said “it smells like sulfur here.” This week Chavez smiled and said “it doesn’t smell like sulfur anymore.”

Toss in Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and you get the U.N.’s trifecta of off the wall world leaders taking their moment before a half-empty General Assembly and, more important, U.N. TV cameras to say whatever happens to be on their agenda.

The U.N. venue, however, can serve a more serious purpose and we also saw evidence of that this week. President Barack Obama used his appearance to call for a stop to the spread of nuclear weapons and for a new effort to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians. He acknowledged the difficulty of bringing Israelis and Palestinians together, saying “there will be setbacks, and false starts, and tough days” but added he “will not waiver in my pursuit of peace.” It’ll be interesting to see how much progress his special envoy, former Senator George Mitchell, will be able to make by next year’s U.N. General assembly meetings.

For the moment, Mr. Obama has promised only that Mitchell would continue his work and report to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton by mid-October. That sounds more like another chapter of kick-the-can down the road which is nothing new for America’s Middle East peacemaking efforts. Clearly the President did not have to hold a tri-lateral summit if that was all he could get from Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. One U.S. official called it “a meeting which should not have taken place,” although he added that the two sides might have gotten the message that Mr. Obama will not be as patient as they thought.

A lot of diplomatic activity goes on this time of year in New York City and much of it is behind the scenes. This year there has been a big focus on Iran’s nuclear ambitions and there was a lot of preparation between the U.S., the U.K., France, Russia, China and Germany - the so-called P-5+1 - for a meeting next week in Geneva with Iran’s representative to talk about Tehran’s nuclear program.

Other issues highlighted this year included food security and world energy needs. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted a lunch for women leaders and was expected to take part in a meeting on Violence Against Women in Conflicts before the New York meetings adjourned.

Another annual feature of these meetings is seeing just how tight security can get, which of course includes tying up traffic all over New York City but most especially around the U.N. and the hotels where President Obama and other high profile world leaders stay. Somehow both the motorcades and pedestrians trying to get from one place to another manage to get where they are going.

What the week is really about is taking almost everything on the world’s political agenda and finding a time and a meeting place to deal with the issue or the leaders involved in it, one way or another. Few issues are resolved in New York, though everyone is made to feel like attention has been paid to them or their pet issue. There seems to be enough limelight to go around, at least once every year.

[pjk12354]

The UN has never been taken seriously. It is an organization for rationalizers and dreamers. When was the last time you rationalized or dreamed your bills actually got paid?

[krb9c9]

If you propose abolishing the UN all together, what do you propose in exchange? Nothing? I agree the UN might not be as efficient as possible, but it's sure better than not having it at all. http://www.newsy.com/videos/voice_or_noise_at_un_general_assembly

[Ceres6]

There is no more scary experience in the uworld that having an encounter with the Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in a dark alley. It is a sure heart attack. Anyone will prefer living through any experience depicted in the movies The Ring, Jack the Ripper, or the Exorcist.

[Ceres6]

The UN Assembly is certainly a serious matter. The problem is that quite often too many meetings are borings. For that reason, once in a while the diplomatic corps bring clowns to entertain them. Some years ago the guest was Idi Amin, who enjoyed eating the ears of the people he sent to jail. Last year the main guests were Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales. They like so much the performance of Hugo Chavez last year, with his jokes about the devil, that for the first time in history the UN hired the same clown for two consecutive years. What a tremendous accomplishment for the Venezuelan tyrant, popularly known in Latin America as the Chapulin Colorado.

[tugar04]

MY COMMENT FOR THE DAY.....

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was once a very hansom man, but its something about the men from the Middle East, they seem to be afraid of Dentists for some reason, because as they age, they all let their teeth fall out and never replace them. I used to think the Actor, Omar Shariff was very hansom, but I saw him a few years ago, and the same thing happened to him. But Gadafi, isn't aging well at all, he's gotten all puffy (looking like he's tasting too much of what's suppose to be forbidden in his country), you know: "spirits or veno..... or something!

And he made a complete fool of himself the other day at the UN, coming all the way from Libya to tell America about our news of 40 years ago!... "Who killed Jack Ruby and Lee Harvey Ozwald"! Total nonsense spoken for over an hour I understand!

I know how President Obama can make all those guys over in the Middle East shape up, just send a plane load of Dentists over there, with no anesthesia, just assorted sets of pliers. I bet that would have each and everyone of them stand to attention, and immediately straighten up to fly right then!

ALL SAID IN GOOD FUN ! PEACE.... LOL, LOL, LOL

[tomindie]

At present world is divided between 2 groupd Pro US & Not pro US.
United Nations headquarters should be moved out of US; Swiss being true non aligned country deserves to have it than US.

[bigreddog222]

Is that an Armani suit? And he must use Just For Men.

Seriously though, it was good to see him come out and address the world. Though a little adaptation of a great saying applies here. It is better to keep you mouth shut and let people think you a nuts than to open your mouth and confirm it.

[bigreddog222]

Wow. Do you ever wonder why a comment reads completely different after you hit submit?

[brian1920]

What a freak show. The UN is a useless, inefficient, powerless organization which just costs money. This was incredible display of why the Un needs to be abolished.

[gregbirddizelec]

The UN, I agree with you, needs to be useful, efficient, and as a representative body of all the world's nations and people, powerful indeed.

The back door "private sector" thrust and approach by the "globalization movement," ie. the World Bank, IMF, WTO etc., has been but dimly successful.

[SHEETPAN]

When will the people of all nations wake up and no longer put up with dictators and tyrants who spew nonsense and delusional self- righteousness . It's as stupid as the divine right of Kings. No one is a true leader who rules for life through fear and intimdation. Weather they sieze power by force, heredity, or upon getting elected, change the rules so that its almost impossible for anyone to ever chllenge them. America should not recognize these thugs. The U. N. has become freakish joke by giving voice to these criminals. All people are created equal, but nations definatly are not.

[malarde555]

you are all stupid for thinking that we are better than gaddafi he is 30 times any of you

[mmvale]

Why is the MIA news not commenting on the $400,000 that Obama wants to give to a Qadhafi charity?

[MIO42]

Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi

Is Muammar hanging out too much at the Alien Bar in Star wars or is that just a regular WAl- Mart in LIBYA ??

[gunownerdan]

The UN has serious meetings?

[SAMTORRES66]

Muammar Qadhafi - who invited this freak looking dude???

[mjvwsr]

it's time to send the UN to Haiti