Iran was selected to serve in a senior role on the U.N Committee for Disarmament and International Security. A farce, tragedy or both?
Judging by the outcome, Karl Marx was wrong in most of his social theories. However, he was right when in The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte he wrote that history repeats itself, "the first as tragedy, then as farce." First, the tragedy: Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus a first century Roman Emperor who earned the nickname Caligula (meaning "little soldier's boot"): Caligula was known for his insane and erratic behavior culminating in turning his palace into a brothel and, most famously, when planned or promised to make his horse, Incitatus, a consul, and actually appointed him a priest.
How would anyone define any differently the recent decision of the General Assembly of the United Nations to select Iran to serve on its Committee on Disarmament and International Security as the disarmament committee's rapporteur? The position would put Iran in charge of reporting on the committee's proceedings and actions. "The Disarmament Commission should continue to play a unique role within the mechanism on disarmament as the only body with universal membership for in-depth deliberations on relevant disarmament issues... the substantive agenda of the Disarmament Commission should normally comprise two agenda items... including one on nuclear disarmament..." (UN Disarmament Commission website, "Decision 52/492 Report of the Disarmament Commission") Really? Iran would report on nuclear disarmament?
The appointment of Iran is not only a farce but also tragic because it punctuates the current pathetic situation of the U.N when on one hand the Security Council imposed sanctions on Iran for suspected weapons of mass destruction proliferation activities, and on the other hand appoints Iran to a position that could potentially undermine with entire work of the General Assembly's Committee on Disarmament and International Security.
Karl Marx, if you read these words from above, you were right at least here! These events are nothing short of tragedy and farce.
"I'm just surprised that the U.N never got around to hiring Michael Jackson to work in its daycare center," said former Pentagon advisor Michael Rubin. "This seems about as good an idea."
Israel's ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor described the new appointment of Iran as tantamount to appointing a drug lord CEO of a pharmaceutical company.
To add insult to injury, the current chair of the disarmament committee is by Libya, The same country that allowed al Qaeda bases and free transport of arms for terrorist activity, and continues to be a cesspool of terrorists.
The appointment of Iran is so irrational that one would wonder what would come next. A majority vote sponsored by the frequent antagonist Non-Aligned Movement UN member states to cancel all Wednesdays from the calendar "due to lack of interest?"
There are growing voices in Congress to defund the U.S. annual contribution to the United Nations. The U.S. gave over $7 billion to the U.N. last year and billions more every year -- nearly a quarter of the United Nations' budget. The recent appointment of Iran is likely to refuel these voices.
1972 years after Caligula appointed his horse a senator, the U.N did no better by appointing Iran a Trojan horse.