NEW YORK — A briefing about the status of tsunami recovery efforts doesn’t usually draw a capacity crowd to the rarely used chamber of the U.N. Economic and Social Council.
But most briefings don’t feature Bill Clinton.
The former U.S. president yesterday briefed a receptive — no, make that enthusiastic — diplomatic audience on the nuances of the international cleanup.
These are, after all, people who are comfortable with a beyond-the-decimal-point discussion of gross domestic product and passionate about foreign investment, humanitarian assistance and phrases like “sustainable development.”
“It’s good of him to come,” said Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram. “And, yes, he’s a superstar. This revives the council for one day.”
Indeed, the grand chamber, with rows of rarely filled seats and boldly embroidered hangings on the walls, seemed to almost crackle with interest in the disaster that wracked Asian coastlines a half-year ago.
Apparently it takes more than heart surgery and a ponderous biography to sink Mr. Clinton, at least among foreign diplomats.
“We recognize with gratitude that your participation in the effort provided new momentum in the recovery effort,” said a representative of Bangladesh, before making a plea for the completion of a proposed tsunami early warning system.
Looking thinner than many remember him and sporting a pair of dark-rimmed reading glasses, Mr. Clinton plainly enjoyed his visit.
He reached into his familiar speech bag, praising by name the little girl who studied tsunamis in school before her family’s vacation, and then saved 100 lives by recognizing the early warning signs.
He dreamed big, suggesting that the tsunami experience could be applied to other ills.
“We could have a year where we raise the money to combat malaria, we could have a year to raise money for tuberculosis, or to put all the children into school,” Mr. Clinton said, seemingly off the cuff.
And he joked gently about not interfering in other countries’ domestic politics before lavishing praise on the Sri Lankan government’s peace-building efforts with rebels.
“I make it a practice to stay out of other countries’ politics — well, I make it a practice to stay out of the politics of my own country now,” he ad-libbed to scattered laughter.
Indeed, Mr. Clinton — who has forged an improbable friendship with former President George Bush — made it clear he is enjoying his White House assignment to help promote and oversee tsunami relief efforts.
Jan Egeland, the U.N. humanitarian relief coordinator who once complained that developed nations had been “stingy” in their assistance, praised Mr. Clinton’s efforts to convince donor countries that their money would be spent in a timely and transparent manner.
But, he noted, “the money was there anyway, even before he came aboard.”
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