Kofi must still go

Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman renews his call for Annan to resign in today's Minneapolis (Red)Star Tribune. Here's an excerpt:

For six months, I have insisted that Annan be held accountable for the U.N.'s gross mismanagement of the Oil-for-Food Program. Last week, the U.N.'s own investigators issued a report criticizing Annan's own conduct -- including his failure to resolve a serious conflict of interest concerning his son -- and the conduct of his chief of staff.

The Volcker report did not "exonerate" Annan, as many have claimed; to the contrary, it pointed the finger directly at him. Indeed, one member of Volcker's committee, Mark Pieth [an organized crime expert from Switzerland], made that point loud and clear: "We did not exonerate Kofi Annan."

With that in mind, I reiterate my call for Annan's resignation.

Coleman, Cornyn, Thune. There is talent in the Republican senatorial ranks.

Meanwhile, Jack Kelly of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offers some good nominations for the next SG of the UN:

Annan's term expires at the end of next year. Bill Clinton would love to replace him. But no citizen of a permanent member of the Security Council should get the job. It should go to a genuine democrat of unquestioned integrity and demonstrable guts, such as former Czech President Vaclav Havel, current Czech President Vaclav Klaus, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar or Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.