It would seem that a whole lot of folks WITHOUT an intimate knowledge of the country are all ready to propose solutions that are comfortable and well bundled up for them.

No one seems to really care much about the sovereignty of the country nor the respect of institutions and procedures in the Ivory Coast.

There is an electoral process enshrined in law that was NOT respected. Did the world stand up to the US Supreme Court when George W. Bush was declared President after the disputed Florida results? No, the world accepted aghast!

But obviously this is Africa...third world....some are convinced that they can gloss over irregularities, dictate, impose THEIR solutions. Fraud is OK, as long as the solution they would like to see in place.

Sarkosy has long been opposed to Gbago because Gbago defended the interests of Ivory Coast before that of France, who would love to continue to exploit to their advantage.
Sarkosy would have been among the first consulted by US, ONU, etc, and he wants Ouattara in place to guarantee French domination, etc.

It seems to hardly matter to any one that there was ACKNOWLEDGED widespread fraud and intimidation in the northern areas, which automatically invalidated the results from that area.

It seems to hardly matter to anyone that the UN's role was to validate process , not outcome and results. Since WHEN does the UN decide on the final results of an independent sovereign nations, to the exclusion of that country's laws? Then they should have opposed GWB's nomination by the Supreme Court, not to mention the illegal invasion of IRAQ, not to mention Israel's flaunting of all international law.

So now, a cohort of international bullies want to impose their wishes on the Ivory Coast, because they would like it to be so.
Of course, ECOWAS, has to follow in stride, their hands are tied, but facts are facts, and many do not want the facts to get in the way.

When President Obama visited Ghana last year, in a major address there, he insisted that what Africa needed was strong institutions, not strong men.....yet there is a blatant and deplorable effort by international institutions to discredit the institutions of the Ivory Coast.

In the widely publicized world reactions to the elections in the Ivory Coast, one must note certain flagrant and despicable facts, that all go to perpetrate the long standing push to dominate and to impose by the stronger countries.
A desire to impose solutions that are convenient or favorable to them, or fit their world view:

- blatant disregard for reports of accredited observers on the ground in the widely disputed areas of the North and West, key to the matter. These observers were mainly Africans from other countries....but their impartial reports and recommendations were deliberately ignored.

- the very illegitimate way in which "initial" non certified results were proclaimed by ONE man from the Electoral commission, escaping from the headquarters of the Commission to go to the seat of Ouattara to alone give numbers to foreign news media. And immediately these non certified results are proclaimed by the UN and the world as official.
The UN had accomplished its mission, and had once again set the scene for Africans to start a war and killing spree. Short term objectives by world powers and institutions with little concern for the impact on lives of millions.

- France's obvious and very bias role in wanting to be rid of his Ivoirian nemesis, Laurent Gbagbo, and leading the efforts to form world opinion in this regard.

- The ECOWAS declaration concerning the recognition of Alassane Ouattara as "President" was made with only 4 of 15 members present.
Who can blame them? They know on which side their bread is buttered......eternally corrupt beggars. Those who had some sliver of conscience remaining preferred to stay at home.

- The United Nations very obvious meddling and wanting to dictate to the Supreme institutions of a sovereign country. It is unconscionable; it would seem that he had a mandate to confirm a certain candidate.

It is always pitiful to see in what countries such an institution tries to play some kind of dictated bias role. Effort to justify its existence. Why not go to Israel, or China or even to the prisons of America? where such an institution would have guaranteed employment for at least half a century?

At the end of the day, I am most proud of the way that the Gbago camp and the Ivoirian legal community has been quietly and with dignity building its case, laying out the facts for those calm heads who wish to examine the situation with impartiality and dispassion. Heads that have no hidden agenda, no interests to defend, no scores to settle....hence no rush to judgment.