On
Syria, As
Russia's
Meeting
Postponed,
Brahimi To
Play Lotto for
Nobel Prize?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 16 --
Only yesterday,
Russian
Ambassador
Vitaly
Churkin
invited the
Action Group
on Syria to a
meeting today
at 11.
French
Ambassador
Gerard Araud
said of course
he accepts
invitations.
But now, the
meeting is
postponed
indefinitely.
Why?
Sources
tell
Inner City
Press that as
the meeting
approached,
the only
confirmed
attendees
between Russia
were China's
Deputy
Permanent
Representative
Wang and "the
UN,"
presumably
Deputy
Secretary
General Jan
Eliasson.
That
the US
wouldn't come
is not
surprising.
But France?
After that
Araud
said, on
camera?
Sources
also
say that Iraq
was of a mind
to come. But
Qatar? No way.
If
Russia had
called a
Security
Council
meeting, not
only would
many of
the
non-Permanent
members have
WANTED to come
-- all members
would
have been
expected to
attend, that
is how the
Security
Council works.
But
choosing this
non-Security
Council
format, with
the
non-Council
members
including not
only Qatar but
Turkey and
Kuwait, it now
appears to be
a set-up for
failure, or at
least
non-attendance.
And
what of
Lakhdar
Brahimi? Last
night Inner
City Press published
a
piece about
his options,
here.
Today a well
placed cynic
reacted,
asking Inner
City Press,
why WOULDN'T
Brahimi take
the job? The
expectations
are
low, but if
somehow
something
happens, he
could get the
Nobel Peace
Prize.
So
it's like the
lottery, Inner
City Press
proposed.
No,
said the
source, "you
have to pay
for a lottery
ticket. Here,
Brahimi
doesn't have
to pay -- he
GETS paid, a
good salary.
He has to
move to New
York from
Paris, true,
which is a
shame in a way
since so
many of the
Syrian
opposition are
there. But
it's a small
price to
pay."
So
this Syria
envoy job has
become a
modified
lottery ticket
to see if
one wins a
Nobel Peace
Prize. Get in
line! Watch
this site.
, 
