QandO

March 19, 2004

Worlds apart
Posted by Jon Henke

In Iraq, where the United States is in charge, they have a Constitution, a Bill of Rights, an interim government...and they're just months away from democratic self-rule.

Meanwhile, where the United Nations is in charge.....

In Kosovo itself, an often hapless U.N. administration guided from New York has resisted turning over power to the Kosovars, who despite their inexperience eventually became frustrated with colonial administration. The United Nations established a weak government and insisted that it meet impossible political and economic goals before Kosovo's final status can even be considered. The U.N. administration failed to generate any serious investment, leaving Kosovo with unemployment of roughly 60 percent -- a potential tinderbox. Equally important, the U.N. administration, with Security Council blessing, allowed Serbia to establish a dual administration in Kosovo for the Serb population there, in effect giving Serbia control over a significant portion of territory in northern Kosovo, where Albanians were kept out, and establishing a de facto geographical basis for partition.

(link via RantingsProf, who has been added to the blogroll)

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