December 17, 2003

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE

"Well, that Vietnam-style quagmire seems to be getting worse, doesn't it?" wrote Mark Steyn the other day. It sure is:

The reputed head of the Iraqi insurgency surrendered to US forces at dawn yesterday, Al-Arabiya television reported last night.

The reported surrender of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, the highest ranking member of the former regime still at large, follows the arrest at the weekend of two leaders of the insurgency along with Saddam Hussein.

This "resistance" isn’t very resistant. A new noun is required. Oh, and before I forget, the UN can go to hell:

"The UN as an organisation failed to help rescue the Iraqi people from a murderous tyranny of 35 years," said [Iraq's foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari]. "The UN must not fail the Iraqi people again."

Kofi Annan, who publicly opposed the US decision to launch the war after failing to win the support of the Security Council, said it was "no time to pin blame and point fingers" over the past.

"I think the UN has done as much as it can for Iraq," Annan told reporters. "So quite honestly I don't think today is the time to hurl accusations."

If not now ... when?

UPDATE. Kofi Annan has "shown the courage of his organisation's internationally civilised convictions."

Posted by Tim Blair at December 17, 2003 10:50 AM
Comments

The Death Twitch?

The Collapse?

The Melt?

Posted by: hbchrist at December 17, 2003 at 10:56 AM

Kofi,Hans and Jacques make me hurl.

Posted by: Julie Cleeveley at December 17, 2003 at 11:08 AM

Strange, I can't seem to find any mention of the story on CNN/FoxNews/BBC.

Posted by: Alan Anderson at December 17, 2003 at 11:11 AM

Please! Please! This is supposed to be a happy occasion! Let's not bicker and argue about who killed who.

Posted by: Steve in Houston at December 17, 2003 at 11:47 AM

Saddam might be a tyrant, but he deserves our deepest respect as a human being.

Can someone please read this and then tell me I'm not hallucinating.

No. Tell me I am hallucinating.

Posted by: ilibcc at December 17, 2003 at 11:53 AM

...the UN has done as much as it can for Iraq.

If that isn't the most accurate admission of the limitations of the UN, I don't know what is. You'll have to leave now, Mr. Annan, the U.S. and its allies have work to do.

Posted by: R.W. at December 17, 2003 at 12:03 PM

Ugh. Those are the people John Rhys-Davies was warning about a few days ago when he mentioned people too meek to defend their own civilization.

Posted by: Russell at December 17, 2003 at 12:05 PM

ilibcc

"Catholic social vision" isn't that an oxymoron?

Posted by: freddyboy at December 17, 2003 at 12:28 PM

Wow. And you thought that Vatican bureaucrat was bad...

Posted by: Andrea Harris at December 17, 2003 at 12:50 PM

let's use koffee as shark bait..out in that area of water where the great whites leap out of the water. now THAT would be fun.

Posted by: samkit at December 17, 2003 at 01:26 PM

The...
...Abashance?
...Meekance?
...Submitance?
...Abjectance?
...Survilance?
...Ignomoniance?
...Crestfallance?

Posted by: Fidens at December 17, 2003 at 02:33 PM

Pittance?

Posted by: ilibcc at December 17, 2003 at 02:38 PM

Er... Servilance? Warning: Credibility down to UN levels! Abort! Abort!

Posted by: Fidens at December 17, 2003 at 02:43 PM

The Reddition. (I believe "reddition" is French for "surrender").

Posted by: scott h. at December 17, 2003 at 02:45 PM

My reccomendation for Australia's next ambassador to the UN:
Tim Blair.
That ought to put the cat amongst the pigeons.

Posted by: Jack Strocchi at December 17, 2003 at 03:23 PM

Saddam's Outa the Hole and Into the Bag.
So it's payback time, let's go hunting down foolish Leftwing statements.
While we are at it, we also need another word for the combination of blogging and gloating, as TB's practice of this black art now approachs Black Belt, 7th Dan, standard.
It also appears to be attracting a crowd of ghoulish on-lookers, as the Saddam spike evinces.
Bloating is already taken, although it kinda sounds appropriate.
How about Glogging?

Posted by: Jack Strocchi at December 17, 2003 at 03:34 PM

I wouldn't call it gloating and payback time so much as joyous celebration and repeating what war supporters have been saying for months.

We would win. And we did.

Democracy! Whiskey! Sexy!

Posted by: hbchrist at December 17, 2003 at 09:38 PM

"I think the UN has done as much as it can for Iraq," Annan told reporters.

Since the UN fled Iraq like a little girl some weeks ago, Kofi actually got this one right. Nothing would benefit Iraq more than a total absence of UN personnel.

Posted by: R C Dean at December 17, 2003 at 10:05 PM

I also heard on the news this morning that Kofi is against the UN going back into Baghdad because it's not safe.

Once again, Kofi shows "the courage of his organisation's internationally civilised convictions".

Posted by: Ken Summers at December 18, 2003 at 01:34 AM