The United States expressed frustration after a wave of sharp criticism directed at President George W. Bush during the September 2006 UN General Assembly in New York. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez drew headlines by calling Bush "the devil," while Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attacked what he characterized as American dominance over international institutions, including the Security Council.
US Ambassador John Bolton said the conduct reflected poorly on both the speakers and the United Nations itself. British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett suggested the two leaders would have limited lasting influence, describing their remarks as attempts to portray the US and UK as destabilizing forces.
Bolivian President Evo Morales added to the spectacle by displaying a coca leaf, using it to protest American drug policy. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe also voiced criticism of Washington, though in somewhat more measured tones.
One Security Council ambassador described the session as among the most strident displays of anti-American sentiment seen at the UN in recent years. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack brushed off the attacks, saying the public would judge the comments and their authors on their own merits.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2006, in its own words.