UNITED NATIONS, April 9 -- Former president Bill Clinton will spend at least two years in his new role as the top U.N. envoy promoting recovery in tsunami-hit countries and demanding accountability for the unprecedented billions of dollars donated by countries and individuals, his deputy said.Maybe he'll join OJ at the golf course? OJ can look for the real killers and Bubba can look for missing bucks. I don't remember the watchdog role being part of Bubba's original brief for this gig, but who's more watchful than he?
Inspector Bubba on the job
By the way, the "deputy" is ole Erskine Bowles who ran for the Senate twice in North Carolina and pretended he didn't know the Clintons. Now he's got a different gig on the gravy train:
Bowles, who was Clinton's chief of staff at the White House from 1996 to 1998 and is now the United Nations' deputy special envoy for tsunami recovery, traveled to Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives in March for a firsthand view of the devastation while the former president was recovering from surgery.But not to worry, Bubba will be reporting for duty shortly:
Clinton is scheduled to make his first public appearance as a U.N. envoy Wednesday.Get 'er done, Bubba! Just like the swell display you put on at the Pope's funeral.
He is to meet with Secretary General Kofi Annan for the first time since his appointment was announced on Feb. 1, and they will hold a news conference, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric announced Friday.
Bowles said the former president plans a week-long trip to tsunami-hit countries on the Indian Ocean, probably in late May, and will go through Europe, where he plans to meet the heads of some nongovernmental organizations that have major roles in the recovery efforts.
