Because I've been working down there for nearly a year as the U.N. special envoy, I've been in constant touch with our people through the U.N. on the ground, and you know we lost a lot of our people there -- the largest loss of life in the history of the United Nations on a single day.
WHITEHOUSE: Presidents Obama, Bush, & Clinton: Help for Haiti
The practices of the U.N. observers on the ground confirm that their current mission has been convoluted with political goals, and this is tantamount to putting the cart before the horse.
Unarmed military observers will be the only U.N. presence on the ground, in a city surrounded by Serb guns.
He said the presence of U.N. observers on the ground will be essential to verify the cessation of violence.
By reducing the number of U.N. personnel on the ground, the ability of hostile forces to take hostages or to retaliate is also reduced, and capability to use air power is enhanced, according to U.N. spokesman Lt.
On another occasion, U.N. attack helicopters with troops on the ground killed more than 200 members of a militia group moving on Goma.
At present, there are 291 U.N. military observers and more than 90 U.N. civilians on the ground in Syria.
Amid the violence, a five-member U.N. team with expertise in politics, peacekeeping and mediation was on the ground in Syria, according to Eduardo del Buey, deputy spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general.
U.N. diplomats say the expectation is that the U.N. force would not take over from African troops currently on the ground until July 1 at the earliest.
So these meetings tomorrow will be about marking that achievement, about receiving the TNC's plans for an inclusive transition in Libya, and also about underscoring the critical role that the U.N. is going to play as a body that can help provide expertise on the ground in Tripoli and other places as Libya moves into a post-Qaddafi government.
WHITEHOUSE: Aboard Air Force One, En Route New York, New York
Mr. SHADID: You know, it's not too strong of a word, I think, to use like dumbfounded when you ask U.N. officials what happened and what the situation is on the ground with the cluster bombs right now.
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