Ban Ki-moon's perfect back flip

Ban Ki-moon's perfect back flip

Boaz Bismuth

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has decided to attend the Non-Aligned Movement summit scheduled for the end of the month in Tehran, it was announced on Wednesday.

"The secretary-general is dismayed by the remarks threatening Israel's existence attributed over the last two days to the supreme leader and the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran," we were told five days ago, in a statement issued by Ban's office.

Unfortunately, even if it sounds far fetched, these two announcements came from the same man, the same Ban Ki-moon. The secretary-general of the U.N. has been blessed with amazing talents, which could have even won him a gold Olympic medal in artistic gymnastics. Ban gave an awe-inspiring performance on Thursday in which he performed a perfect back flip. It is no wonder that Iran is laughing at the world — the world sometimes makes a fool of itself.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is probably thinking that the infidels have lost their minds: First it was the world powers, including the U.S., who were willing to play along with Iran's foot dragging and engage in talks after talks of dialogue. For the world powers, these talks signified nothing more than an opportunity to get a few more passport stamps. For Iran, these talks were spectacular. Just like the talks scheduled for Saturday between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency — nothing but talk.

But the U.N. chief took it a step further. He has given his stamp of approval to the summit of non-aligned nations in Tehran. This summit is an Iranian effort to breach the walls of isolation erected around it by the international community. The organized event is no more than a propaganda initiative sponsored by the ayatollah regime. It's bad enough that the Cuban and North Korean delegations will be in attendance, but the secretary-general of the U.N.?

The League of Nations (1920-1946), which preceded the U.N., failed and collapsed in part thanks to its conciliation in the face of Nazi Germany. The pacifist stance held by most of its members, among other things, led to the outbreak of World War II.

Ban's trip to Tehran next week is reminiscent of those days. This Iran visit erodes just a little bit more of the U.N.'s moral standing. Iran, in case Ban has forgotten, has called for the annihilation of another U.N. member state, in blatant violation of the U.N. charter. Iran also denies the Holocaust. Ban could not possibly forget something that he himself has condemned.

New Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi will also be in Tehran, among 30 nations that have already confirmed their participation in the summit. This will be a historic visit — the first visit by an Egyptian president to Iran since the 1979 revolution. At least Ban won't be alone.

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