Another Example of How the Bush administration Continues to Browbeat the World (Internet Governance)
From: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/02/rice_eu_letter/
Read the letter that won the internet governance battle
Condoleezza Rice's missive to the EU
Published Friday 2nd December 2005 09:07 GMT
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The World Summit in
Its biggest controversy came with the proposition put forward by the EU a month earlier that there be a new inter-governmental body that oversee ICANN. The
Most significant among all those lobbying efforts was a letter sent from the US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice to the UK foreign minister Jack Straw acting in the role of presidency of the EU.
In the letter, Rice used strong language for a diplomatic missive, to stress how seriously the
The result was that the EU never raised its inter-governmental forum again in World Summit meetings, and the end agreement stuck with the
This is the first time time the full text of that letter has been published:
7 November 2005
To:
The Right Honourable Jack Straw MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs,
Dear Foreign Secretary,
The governance structure and continued stability and sustainability of the Internet are of paramount importance to the
As we approach the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), we should underscore the vast potential of the Internet for global economic expansion, poverty alleviation, and for improving health, education and other public services, particularly in the developing world where Internet access remain unacceptably low.
The Internet will reach its full potential as a medium and facilitator for global economic expansion and development in an environment free from burdensome intergovernmental oversight and control. The success of the Internet lies in its inherently decentralized nature, with the most significant growth taking place at the outer edges of the network through innovative new applications and services. Burdensome, bureaucratic oversight is out of place in an Internet structure that has worked so well for many around the globe. We regret the recent positions on Internet governance(i.e., the “new cooperation model”) offered by the European Union, the Presidency of which is currently held by the United Kingdom, seems to propose just that - a new structure of intergovernmental control over the Internet.
The four principles the
The
The history of the Internet’s extraordinary growth and adaptation , based on private-sector innovation and investment, offers compelling arguments against burdening the network with a new intergovernmental structure for oversight. It also suggests that a new intergovernmental structure would most likely become an obstacle to global Internet access for all our citizens. It is in this spirit that we ask the European Union to reconsider its new position on Internet governance and work together with us to bring the benefits of the Information Society to all.
Sincerely,
Carlos M. Guiterrez Secretary of Commerce
Condoleezza Rice Secretary of State
1 Comments:
Now that's more like it dude!
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