This is a first! And even though it's been a few weeks since we heard that a team of international observers have been approved to monitor this year's presidental election, there seems to be little debate about it...but there should be. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was invited by the State Department because of the efforts of 13 Democrat members of Congress, who cried "possible civil rights violations" like they say took place in Florida in 2000. They actually wrote the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in July requesting observers, but he rejected saying the request must come from the administration. So the 13 asked Secretary of State Colin Powell to make the request. Even though the issue was debated in the House, a letter dated July 30 by Assistant Secretary of State Paul Kelly said the invitation to OSCE was made. "The U.S. is obliged to invite us, as all OSCE countries should," said Urdur Gunnarsdottir, spokesperson for the organization. "It's not legally binding, but it's a political commitment. They signed a document 10 years ago to ask OSCE to observe elections. I am pleased that Secretary Powell is as committed as I am to a fair and democratic process. The presence of monitors will assure Americans that America cares about their votes and it cares about its standing in the world," she said in a press release. Hmmmmm, 10 years ago. Now let's see, who was President then? More on this tomorrow.
© Sharon Hughes 2004
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1 comment:
Okay, I'm getting hotter and hotter the more I read your articles. First of all, why in the world would we agree to this in the first place except Bill Clinton loved to give away our precious liberties! But Colin Powelll? And just because of a few congressmen? This is too much! Can it be prevented? - Not Happy with this
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