By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, September 27 -- Even on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which the US has not ratified, the foreign ministers of Australia and the Netherlands replied to Inner City Press' question on Thursday with fulsome praise of Barack Obama.
Bob Carr of Australia replied, "I would commend president Obama for his leadership, and urge the US Congress to see this as the world sees it."
Many here have that urging for the US Congress.
Inner City Press asked, for a second time, if the changes in Egypt, from Mubarak to Morsi, made that country ratifying the CTBT any more likely.
Dutch foreign minister Uri Rosenthal ignored the Egypt question, but offered, "on the role of the US, I noticed that the Obama administration actually has been very active on nuclear security... held in Seoul, and will be held in the Netherlands in 2014, very much at the initiative of the president of the United States."
On the changes in Egypt and the CTBT Carr replied, "I'm not sure I can comment usefully on that," a formulation he used a moment later on a question about Article 7 of the Treaty. And so it goes at the UN. Video here.
