Helms Pleads to Keep Clinton Out of U.N.
Feb. 3, 2005
CHARLOTTE, N.C -- They may both be out of office, but Bill Clinton remains the ultimate boogeyman for former Sen. Jesse Helms. In a fund-raising a letter for his senatorial library, Helms invokes the specter of the former president leading the United Nations after Kofi Annan retires next year.
"I'm sure you might agree that putting a left-wing, undisciplined and ethically challenged former President of the United States into a position of such power would be a tragic mistake," wrote the 83-year-old Republican, who left office in 2003 after five terms.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter Tuesday. It contains a petition asking President Bush to "rebuke all efforts by Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and every other liberal in Congress to push for Bill Clinton to become Secretary-General of the United Nations."
A spokesman for Clinton did not respond to a call seeking comment. Clinton has said nothing publicly about wanting to lead the U.N.
Based on unofficial rules governing selection of U.N secretaries-general, Clinton seems an unlikely candidate. Selection of the secretary-general rotates by region; it is Asia's turn to choose the next U.N. leader and there are already several announced Asian candidates.
In addition, the secretary-general traditionally does not come from a country that is a permanent, veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council _ a group that includes the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.
The Jesse Helms Center in Wingate, 30 miles southeast of Charlotte, has a lecture series that has attracted speakers such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Its Web site describes it as a "nonpartisan organization" that promotes the principles espoused by Helms.
Annan appointed Clinton Tuesday to be a U.N. special envoy for tsunami reconstruction and to help resolve rebel conflicts in two of the hardest hit countries, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. The appointment will begin next month.
