“One gets the impression that other countries are suspicious that the secretary general and his aides are really puppets being manipulated by Washington.”
“If you are going to have a Security Council with more members, are you going to reserve 10 seats automatically on all these bodies? That would mean all these bodies would have to be pretty big to accomplish that.”
“I think there is a real worry in Washington that if one of the criteria (for membership on the human rights council) becomes the ratification of human rights treaties, that the U.S. will have a hard time getting on.”
“I think it is a rather awkward situation and these things are usually worked out quietly. The more we play up this privilege, the more other members are going to dig in. You don't necessarily do yourself a favor by trumpeting the issue.”
“Even a debate in the council, perhaps at the foreign minister's level, raises the ante and political tensions in capitals around the world that Iran is not meeting its obligations and appears to be developing an independent nuclear capability. It's not good news for Iran.”
