4 UN Debuts to Watch

President to take blunt approach in first General Assembly address

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama told the UN today that the global community has too long been "defined by our differences and outpaced by our problems." He said he was aware of the high expectations for his presidency, and he acknowledged US failings, but said solving the world's problems is not "solely America's endeavor," the AP reports. The president struck a blunt tone in his first speech before the UN General Assembly. "Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world's problems alone," he said. More»

Especially because he made it so close to Ground Zero

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama was definitely not a fan of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s UN speech , in which he called for an inquiry into 9/11 conspiracy theories. “It was offensive. It was hateful,” Obama told the BBC today. “Especially for him to make the statement here in Manhattan, just a little north of Ground Zero … was inexcusable.” More»

'This problem has been solved to the satisfaction of all parties'

(NEWSER) - Moammar Gadhafi tried to leaven his image a bit after his 90-minute UN diatribe by sitting down with the Wall Street Journal yesterday. The Libyan strongman assured reporter Jay Solomon he could "comprehend" the anger of Americans who lost friends and relatives in the Lockerbie bombing. He denied orchestrating a hero's welcome for the bomber and said the release was all through "proper channels," adding, "We all feel the pain for such a tragedy." More»

Buried in 96-minute diatribe was a smart UN reform proposal

(NEWSER) - His swine flu conspiracy theories and who-shot-JFK musings may have got the headlines, but Moammar Gadhafi actually made a few good points during his 96-minute monologue at the UN General Assembly, blogs Gideon Rachman. The Libyan colonel is totally right that the Security Council is outdated and doesn't represent the world well, and he accurately outlined the difficulties of reform: offer one country a seat and another pops right up. Unfortunately, calling it "the terror council" does tend to turn fellow UN reformers off. More»

(NEWSER) - Maybe he just needs a good night's sleep (somewhere). Moammar Gadhafi made such a long and rambling speech today—his main point seemed to be to rail against the Security Council's power—that he wore out his first translator. Some odds and ends:

• He suggested Israel had a hand in the JFK assassination.
• Swine flu might be a military weapon that leaked from a lab.
• He complained at length of jet lag and having to get up early for the meeting.
• On that note, he suggested moving the UN out of New York: "You will thank me for not having to travel for 20 hours to this place."