UN = Uniting Nobody

Well, according to THIS article, Koffi Annan is suggesting some radical changes to the UN this week. Perhaps he has finally realized that the United Nations is an impotent body of bureaucrats with interests that can best be described as “self-serving”.

When Woodrow Wilson first suggested the idea of a global-opinion forming body, he was searching for something to “create mutual guarantees of the political independence and territorial integrity of States, large and small equally." Perhaps I’ve been watching the wrong UN…

In the past few years, we’ve seen the UN come under fire for ethics violations and sexual harassment cases. We’ve seen this body be openly ignored in favor of attacking Iraq, and publicly vilified for its contributions to genocide problems in Africa.

So, my question is this: Is the UN still needed?

Answer: Yes, but only if it realizes its limited scope and power – which it has never done.

I’m in favor of the UN, simply because our 100+ countries need an open forum to discuss matters of mutual interest, with the help of non-involved peers. The board of the UN was originally intended to serve as an uninterested third party to facilitate disputes. But, if you’re going to fill the board with human beings – how do you possible expect them to be impartial? Humans are corruptible to be sure, but beyond that hard fact of life is that admission to the board of the UN does not make one forget his obligations to his country of origin.

In addition to that is the rather stupid idea of giving each of the five permanent member countries a global veto right over the other four – what madness is this? Under this system, you need to get 4 billion people to agree on something! As Americans, we often argue about what to have for dinner! How about – and I know this a weird concept – we apply the principle of democracy to the UN? Voting! Majority Rules! All votes equal! Am I speaking ancient Greek here? Epsilon kappa…ah, never mind.

In the meantime, I think Koffi needs to dust off the old resume and log onto www.monster.com. He hasn’t done a good job of running the UN, updating it’s archaic policies, or bringing it into the 21st century. Donald Trump, can you help us out with your trademark phrase?