ANNAN'S LAST U.N. SPEECH

Annan Plans to Let Iran and Syria Off The Hook and Blame Israel in his Final Remarks to the Security Council on the Middle East Tomorrow (NYSun)
Kofi Annan will deliver his final remarks on the Middle East to the Security Council tomorrow.

It will be a telling moment for Annan. Will he finally recognize what America, and even Europe, have recognized -- that the election of the terrorist group Hamas into government is the greatest barrier to peace? Or will he throw out the usual "blame Israel for the occupation" line that he's all too familiar with? Will he condemn Iran and Syria for their interference in the Palestinian Arab controlled territories, Lebanon, and Iraq, and urge them to end their support for terrorism? Or will he pretend that America's liberation of Iraq and Israel's anti-terrorist actions are to blame for all the regions problems?

Sources tell us that Annan plans to let Iran and Syria off the hook. He will mention them in his speech, and the role they play, but he won't blame them. No mention will be made of their funding of global terrorism or their role in regional instability. He will say that Iran is a "source of deep concern" -- or he will use some other flowery language that amounts to very little. On Lebanon, Syria won't be blamed by name. By implication is the best we can hope for from Mr. Annan.

As for Hamas, Mr. Annan lets them off the hook. He will say that the U.N. appears to be one-sided against Israel, but he still blames the "occupation" for the majority of the problems. Apparently having terrorists in government is a minor detail.

Mr. Annan still has time to rethink his remarks. What he says is irrelevant to Israel, to America, and to the people of Lebanon and Iraq struggling for freedom. His term is up. The question for Annan is how he wishes to be remembered by future generations: As an apologist for terrorists and rogue regimes, or as a secretary general who finished his term by speaking with moral clarity for once.