| Helms pleads to keep clinton out of UN Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/10790366.htmhttp://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/10790366.htm
Posted on Tue, Feb. 01, 2005 Helms Pleads to Keep Clinton Out of U.N.
PAUL NOWELL
Associated Press
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.
ON THE NET
Helms Center: http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/
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