As N.
Korea Missile
Brings End to
Susan Rice
Holiday Party,
of Turkey
&
NATO Missiles
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 11 --
Even under the
threat of a
North Korea
launch,
Tuesday seemed
a regular
UN-world
holiday
evening. After
a
press
stakeout on
the UN paying
blood money
for bringing
cholera to
Haiti, the
rush was to
the European
Union's
celebration of
its Nobel
Peace Prize
win.
In
a large
glassed-in
room over
Third Avenue,
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon
congratulated
the EU. It was
joked that not
this year but
soon the EU
could win the
Nobel for
economics.
Then
a subway up to
59th Street
for the
farewell of
one of the
best
spokesmen,
chockablock
with insider
correspondents.
Then and only
then down to
the holiest of
UN holiday
grails, US
Ambassador
Susan
Rice's party
complete with
jazz band and
turkey and
ham.
There
Inner City
Press found
past and
present Libyan
ambassador
Shalgam,
and his Sri
Lankan
counterpart;
Togo and
Morocco,
Montenegro and
and
the UK deputy
whose
apartment was
used for his
spokesman's
farewell.
That's how it
is in
UN-world: all
for one, and
all for one,
at least
among the
diplomats.
But
then the mood
suddenly
turned sober
at Ambassador
Rice's party.
No it
was not her
fault, as some
would like to
claim. The
long awaited
but
often
dismissed DPRK
launch took
place,
reportedly
over Okinawa.
Inner
City Press
quickly went
to the side
room with the
food, where it
seemed the
news would be
last to hit.
But even
there, already
a push
was on: this
is a private
party, you
cannot report
on it.
A
Turkey
picture
later, still
some push
back, but
less. This is
documenting a
moment. Isn't
it Turkey,
which wants
NATO Patriot
missile
pointed at
Syria?
And
no, DPRK is
not Susan
Rice's fault.
A rush by
Inner City
Press back
past the South
Korean and US
mission to the
Security
Council
stakeout
found all
three to be
quiet.
As
more than one
UN
correspondent
cynically
opined, at
least this way
we're probably
done be
Christmas.
Some weak
press
statement,
pushed
by the South
Koreans.
Unless of
course there
is another
missile.
Watch this
site.
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