As the conflict goes on in the Middle East, so many people are looking for a just solution. So many are trying to find a way to stop the killing of innocents and the destruction of cities. As in the past, a plea goes up for the U.N. to do something.
This is a futile plea. The U.N. has failed to address the nuclear crisis in Iraq, the genocide in Sudan, and the missile crisis in North Korea. These are only the most recent crises. The most that comes from the U.N. are pronouncements and denouncements.
The U. N. is doing something, what it does constantly, talk. In that talk is a frequent condemnation of Israel, a favorite target, right behind the U.S. Given its history of failure when it does act, perhaps that is what we should be hoping it ever does, talk. Still, it is a very expensive forum for undermining certain countries and bolstering others.
When its peacekeepers were sent to Africa, the peacekeepers seemed to think their job description was raping the local populace, children included. Meanwhile, whole populations were being slaughtered in a genocidal operation to rid the reigning government of its enemies. Still, the U.N. was talking.
The U. N. talked its way all through the Oil-for-Food scandal. There was a lot of talking, apparently, that went on that we never knew about until some probing was done. Senator Norm Coleman came out strong, saying his committee was going to get to the bottom of this scandal. Has anyone heard from Coleman or his committee since? Paul Volcker was appointed by the U.N. to investigate itself. Volcker was a good choice for U.N. purposes, since he is an avid supporter of global governance. It would have been unusual for him to find much that would incriminate this organization that is the epitome of global governance. Did anyone get fired, censured, fined, sent to jail? If so, it didn’t make a splash in the Mainstream Media.
For awhile, all fingers were pointing to former Oil-for-Food Director Benon Sevan, who scurried out of reach of U.S. extradition. The U.N.’s probe resulted in allegations that Sevan took payoffs amounting to $147,000. No action seems to be imminent against him. He has maintained that he is innocent. We will probably never know.
It seems the U.N. has even talked its way out of any sanctions for probably the
biggest fraud in world history.
Meanwhile, as usual, the U.S. has been the adult in this community and pressed a case in federal court against South Korean businessman Tongsun Park, accused of conspiracy in acting as an unregistered agent of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in implementing the Oil-for-Food Program. Park was convicted.
Park was a prominent visitor to the haunts of the influential in the U.N.
Park is not a newcomer to high level shady dealings in government. He was
Involved in the 1970s Koreagate scandal in which he was accused of offering bribes and favors to U.S. lawmakers on behalf of South Korea’s intelligence services. He testified in exchange for immunity.
What about the victims of Oil-for-Food? After Park’s conviction the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York issued a press release in which it quoted Ambassador Feisal Amin-al-Istrabadi, deputy permanent representative to the U.N. from the new Republic of Iraq:
“Individuals like Tongsun Park, who actively represented the interests of the former regime in international matters and were willing to take money for those efforts from that regime, strengthened that regime and led to the continued repression of the people of Iraq. The Republic of Iraq is grateful for the Southern District of New York and the FBI for pursuing this case and continuing to investigate criminal wrongdoing related to the Oil-for-Food Program”.
Notice that the pursuit of justice was made by the U.S., with U.S. personnel and assets. If there are other legal actions they will no doubt have to be brought by our own government. We still have to hear about a parallel action on the part of the U.N.
The U.S. has a new man at the U.N., John Bolton. Some express high hopes that Bolton will reform the U.N. This is a daunting task, and one that a single man cannot accomplish. The danger is that we will think that Bolton is reforming the bloated bureaucracy of the U.N. and think that things are under control. We pay about 25% of the total operations of the U.N., but have only one vote in the General Assembly, the same as the smallest country represented there. And, our only real lever is the threat of withdrawing our monetary support.
Other U.S. funds are regularly given to help people in foreign countries in times of disaster, famine or war. Despite the massive generosity of the American people, we hear from time to time from representatives of the U.N. how stingy we are. It is now being proposed that a global tax be imposed by the U.N. Lots of countries are on board with this. Why not? The U.S., being the wealthiest, will also pay the most in taxes. These taxes would be funneled into an entity over which we have little control and which has no accountability or oversight by our government. We have seen how corruption succeeds where there is no such accountability to anybody and no oversight by any government, including the U.S.
The lofty ideals spouted by and about the U.N. are just that, lofty ideals. The U.N. is only somewhat adequate in providing relief to poorer countries. We do that already, and more efficiently, than through the myriad bureaucracies of the U.N. If we don’t like the way our relief funds are being administered by our own people, we can call them up before a congressional committee and make them answerable for their actions. No such remedy exists concerning the U.N.
Nonetheless, the public relations boosters of the U.N. are relentless in telling us that it is the way to a peaceful world. Our kids are taught in school that the U.N.
is our “last best hope for peace in the world”.
If this is true, we are, as Bush the Senior inelegantly phrased it, “in deep doo-doo”!
Barbara regularly writes for CapitolHillCoffeeHouse. She also appears in California Chronicle, Border Patrol, and Citizens Caucus. Her primary interest is illegal immigration, but she writes about other subjects as well.
Barbara lives in a large city on the West Coast. Her loyalties are with God, family, country, heritage and borders.
She enjoys music, painting, poetry and song writing.