The Permanent Reprehensive
![Bashar Ja'afari, Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, speaks during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations in New York April 21, 2012. (Courtesy REUTERS/Allison Joyce).](http://cdn.cfr.org/sites/default/files/styles/slide_3_2/public/image/2013/02/Abrams-Jaafari-02282013.webp)
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As I wrote in this blog earlier today, the ambassador-- or "Permanent Representative," to use the correct UN language--of Syria was recently elected to a position in the UN Special Committee on Decolonization.
And I noted that Syria’s official news agency happily reported this event. A more careful reading of the report by SANA, the official Syrian news agency, shows that someone in Damascus has either imperfect English--or perfect English and a terrific sense of humor. For the SANA report said that
The Permanent Reprehensive of the Syrian Arab republic to the UN, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, was unanimously re-elected as Rapporteur of UN Special Committee on Decolonization.
There are alas many other regimes whose ambassadors to the UN might equally well be called "the Permanent Reprehensive." It’s a glorious new title, and we should all thank SANA for supplying it.
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Update: A friend has pointed out to me that China has a Deputy Permanent Reprehensive.
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