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Kofi Annan Quotes Truman in his Farewell Speech

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, gave a farewell speech at the Truman Presidential Museum and Library as his term of office drew to a close. Annan will be replaced by South Korea?s Ban-Kin Moon from the first day of 2007. In his speech, Annan, quoting at length the 33rd president of the United States, Harry Truman, called for present and future presidents of the country to remain true to their principles and choose their actions wisely, especially when it came to dealing with the issue of terrorism.

Despite the fact that the United States originally backed Annan?s candidacy when he was running for the position of Secretary General, the relationship between the two has been a roller-coaster ride for the past decade. The height of the tensions was felt when the USA pushed for the commencement of the Iraq war, despite the fact that Annan was fiercely against the move and went so far as to call the war, ?illegal?.

In his speech, Annan quoted Truman by saying, ?We all have to recognize, no matter how great our strength, that we must deny ourselves the license to do always as we please.? Annan called for far-sighted United States leadership, in Truman-like tradition and called for extended trade cooperation across the globe. He concluded by saying: "More than ever today, Americans, like the rest of humanity, need a functioning global system through which the world`s people can face global challenges together.?