Monday, January 3, 2005 |
11:40 - UNhelpful
http://diplomadic.blogspot.com/2005/01/almost-funnny.html
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Oil-For-Food, Congolese child porn, and now this? Why does anybody persist in thinking the UN needs—nay, deserves—any more of our money or valuable New York real estate?
More on "The UNcredibles": WFP (World Food Program) has "arrived" in the capital with an "assessment and coordination team." The following is no joke; no Diplomad attempt to be funny or clever: The team has spent the day and will likely spend a few more setting up their "coordination and opcenter" at a local five-star hotel. And their number one concern, even before phones, fax and copy machines? Arranging for the hotel to provide 24hr catering service. USAID folks already are cracking jokes about "The UN Sheraton." Meanwhile, our military and civilians, working with the super Aussies, continue to keep the C-130 air bridge of supplies flowing and the choppers flying, and keep on saving lives -- and without 24hr catering services from any five-star hotel . . . . The contrast grows more stark every minute.
And this after the UN's trying to take credit for relief efforts primarily undertaken by US and Australian outfits:
I provided this to some USAID colleagues working in Indonesia and their heads nearly exploded. The first paragraph is quite simply a lie. The UN is taking credit for things that hard-working, street savvy USAID folks have done. It was USAID working with their amazing network of local contacts who scrounged up trucks, drivers, and fuel; organized the convoy and sent it off to deliver critical supplies. A UN “air-freight handling centre” in Aceh? Bull! It's the Aussies and the Yanks who are running the air ops into Aceh. We have people working and sleeping on the tarmac in Aceh, surrounded by bugs, mud, stench and death, who every day bring in the US and Aussie C-130s and the US choppers; unload, load, send them off. We have no fancy aid workers' retreat -- notice the priorities of the UN? People are dying and what's the first thing the UN wants to do? Set up "a camp for relief workers" one that would be "fully self-contained, with kitchen, food, lodging, everything."
The UN is a sham.
When the chips are down, you can sure count on them to show their true colors, it seems. Even if it turns out we need an organization like the UN in the world today, the current one is beyond repair and ought to face the wrecking ball, even if just for punitive reasons. It'd improve the architecture of the 42nd Street area considerably.
Via Tim Blair, who I'm just going to link at the top level because his coverage of the tsunami aftermath is ongoing and probably the best around.
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