Written by: Beck

Calls for Kofi Annan to resign are daily increasing in number. Within the US government, a second senator, John Ensign of Nevada, has joined Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman in calling for Annan to step down, saying:

Ensign says that while there's nothing that indicates that Annan personally benefited, the corruption that has been uncovered occurred on his watch and he should be held accountable.

"Billions of dollars intended to aid the Iraqi people through the Oil-for-Food program were stolen while he was Secretary General. Kofi Annan must be held accountable."

You can read Coleman's article in the Wall Street Journal here.

Canada's National Post has also called for Kofi to step down. They highlight the Oil-For-Food scandal, and then add:

Mr. Annan has also watched as the UN Human Rights Commission has degenerated into a laughingstock run by some of the worst human-rights abusers in the world. He has refused to stop the UN agency responsible for delivering humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees from assisting terrorists. And from Rwanda to Srebrenica, East Timor to Sudan, he has time and again permitted himself to be conned by tyrants and butchers while they have murdered hundreds of thousands of innocents.

I myself have been remiss in focusing on the OFF scandal almost to the point of exclusion of all else. The reality is that OFF is really only the tip of the UN mismanagement iceberg.

Another mistake many who share my views on this issue have made is to assume that the Democratic party--generally a major UN backer as John Kerry's presidential campaign made clear--is by default also a Kofi Annan backer. As such, you can imagine my glee at seeing the Democratic Leadership Council call for Annan to step down. While I disagree with their general support of the UN, they do draw the correct conclusion that, for the UN to have any hope of effectiveness, Annan first must get out of the way to allow reform movements a chance of succeeding.

Annan's intransigence should not deter the Senate subcommittee on investigations or other congressional investigations. Volcker can hardly be expected to conduct a thorough and unbiased inquiry into a scandal in which the U.N. secretary general and his son are involved. The world deserves a full and thorough accounting of what transpired. The sooner the United Nations can get past this matter, the sooner it can get back to the important business of making itself an effective instrument for collective security against terrorism, failed states, and acts of genocide, a goal that Annan has strongly supported. The secretary general should place this critical mission ahead of his personal interests, and step aside. Given his own lack of credibility on the oil-for-food program, this step is the price Annan must pay to help restore the U.N.'s credibility, and to salvage his legacy as secretary general.

Finally, while they aren't exactly major media outlets, The Robesonian of North Carolina and Louisiana's Bayou Buzz have both called for his resignation. Just another sign of the rising tide against Annan.

It can't all be good news, though. Staunch American ally Tony Blair has come out in support of Annan.