H13656
Headlines : IraqWelcome to Iraq, Mr. Ban
In the middle of his first trip to Iraq since taking the reins of the United Nations as Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon was presented with a taste of Iraqi discontent with the world body. As he was giving a speech praising the strong leadership characteristics of Iraq’s marionette of a Prime Minister, Nuri al-Malaki, insurgents managed to hit the very building within the fortified Green Zone he was speaking at…. with a mortar. Ironically, he was there to discuss the possibility of the United Nations returning to the country on the basis of “an improved situation on the ground.”
Here’s a video clip of the incident, which shows a clearly shaken Ban Ki-Moon, and a generally unfazed al-Malaki.
Iraqi officials were reassuring. “This was not a security breach,” said the Interior Minister, Jawad Bolani. “Things like this happen in Baghdad once or twice a week.“
What a joke.
[Posted By Heatscore]Republished from Counterpunch
A rocket or mortar bomb exploded 50 yards from the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, as he was telling reporters in Baghdad that he was thinking of boosting the UN presence in Iraq because of improved security.
A startled looking Mr Ban ducked as if for cover behind the artificial flowers decorating the podium as the roar of the explosion reverberated through the hall where he was giving a press conference, standing beside Iraq’s Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki.
It was Mr Ban’s first visit to Iraq and like all other visits by senior international dignitaries to the Iraqi capital it was a “surprise”, in a bid to get in and out of the country before insurgents could react.
In Mr Ban’s case their response was immediate and highly accurate: the blast was close enough to the conference hall to bring down pieces of debris from the ceiling while outside it slightly wounded two security guards.
Posted by Heatscore
A jaded Raskolnikov waiting in disgust for this sick society's imminent paradigm shift.
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Mr. Ban? isn’t Ban his first name?
Mr. Ban Ki-moon
or just Mr. Ki-moon
“Mr. Ban? isn’t Ban his first name?”
I know you’re a culturally literate guy, Shifty, so I was a bit surprised at this. Ban is his family name, as he is Korean. Many Asian names are opposite of typical Western order, but are reversed when moving to Western countries to avoid confusion. For example, the famous Japanese scholar Fukuzawa Yukichi is known (incorrectly) in some western texts as Yukichi Fukuzawa, and actress Gong Li is actually Li Gong in her native China.
Hope that helps!
By the way – say what you will about al-Maliki, but his (non) reaction to the mortar blast was pretty badass.
I know you’re a culturally literate guy, Shifty,
i don’t know what could have made you think a thing like that
but yeah, thanks
his (non) reaction to the mortar blast was pretty badass
bad-ass, or just the result of having grown so used to the sound and feeling.
By the way – say what you will about al-Maliki, but his (non) reaction to the mortar blast was pretty badass.
Agreed.
“bad-ass, or just the result of having grown so used to the sound and feeling“
Yeah, the latter. I wasn’t intending to glorify it, because that is truly a horrible thing to become desensitized to (and one that I am thankful to never know). But damn…
I wasn’t intending to glorify it
yeh i know man, I didnt mean it to sound like a dig or correction or whatever.
we could just call him moon.
or moonie.
Ban the bang.