'The Elders' will take on world's problems | ajc.com

'The Elders' will take on world's problems | ajc.com: "Melding serious statesmanship and a large slug of audacity, the former South African president Nelson Mandela and a clutch of world-famous figures plan to announce today a private alliance to launch diplomatic assaults on the globe's most intractable problems.

The alliance, to be unveiled during events marking Mandela's 89th birthday, is to be called 'the Elders.' Among others, it includes former President Jimmy Carter, retired Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu and retired U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan.

Many, including Mandela, have been early and harsh critics of President Bush and American foreign policy, particularly toward Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The group's members and backers insisted in interviews, however, that they are guided neither by ideology nor by geopolitical bent."

I'm all for it, though it reminds me a little of Saturday Night Live's cartoon, The X-Presidents!