We Aren't the World

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL BOUTROS BOUTROS-GHALI could be trying to loosen America's grip on power within the U.N. One new Under Secretary-General was scolded by Boutros-Ghali for choosing an American as his deputy. And when Bush appointee Dick Thornburgh left as U.N. Under Secretary-General of Administration and Management, Boutros-Ghali tried to take the influential position from America and give the U.S. a frilly public relations post instead. An American official in the U.N. complains that it's "a very clearly anti-American bent." However, with just one superpower left in the world, Boutros-Ghali may feel that a little bureaucratic kryptonite is exactly what is needed to maintain the U.N.'s equilibrium.