UN Response To Oil For Food Scandal

For anyone who's been following the Oil For Food scandal, you've seen the UN trying to jump through hoops to make the American Media happy, all to no avail. Kojo (Kofi Annan's son, implicated in the Oil For Food scandal) pointed out it was a vast right wing conspiracy and they should just mind their own business. Kofi responded to accusations of the Oil For Food program's corruption by pointing out the good parts of the UN.

Both very valid, practical and helpful solutions to the problem. However, Americans continue to demand more from the UN. It seems every time something negative in the Oil For Food scandal comes out, the UN responds immediately, but it's just not good enough for those cowboy Americans. News breaks that Kojo is directly involved in the scandal, the UN immediately comes out and says, "look, we're helping AIDS victims in Africa!" Yet, for some reason, that response just isn't good enough for those impossible to please Americans.

Now, the UN is on the right path. Rather than point out how great the UN is every time scandal comes out, they've taken to attacking the sources as biased. The UN Dispatch, a blog hosted and funded by the UN, has taken up attacking American bloggers for being biased in their coverage of the UN. The case is legit, too. Every time someone is busted in the UN for the Oil For Food scandal, and they come out saying, "We helped little 14 year old Michelle in the Sudan get home safely after getting lost in the desert today", the biased blogger would only report on the Oil For Food thing, and not mention all the great things the UN has been doing around the world.

www.undispatch.com...

Stop ripping on the UN, people. They have responded to every accusation in a manner that makes most sane people think the UN is the greatest thing in the world. Ignore those biased, vast right wing conspiracy articles about UN Peacekeepers raping children, the Oil For Food scandal, or Rowanda's story. Those are mearly put out there by the vast right wing conspiracy to make the UN look bad while ignoring all the good the UN does.

Washing Hands Time

Apparenetly this OIL for FOOD program was one BIG SCAM - people made alot of money out of it, but no food or medicine or water the Iraqi people received.

So ofcourse everybody is trying to wash their hands, by blaming others for this so-called "program" - more like, Corruption.

I find it really amusing that the UN seems to have taken the Catholic Church's old stand on the child abuse charges. I guess the UN saw how well it worked for the Catholic Church and decided to use the same plan. Gotta love irony!

"Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes."
Mahatma Gandhi

Originally posted by devilwasp
"Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes."
Mahatma Gandhi

Profound words. However, what would be really cool is to learn from your mistakes. That doesn't seem to be the case here. I read an interesting definition of insanity the other day:

Insanity: Doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results

That really seems to encompase the UN's idea for handling the Oil For Food scandal, along with all the other scandals rocking the UN. They have ignored the accusations, responding to them with the merrits of the UN instead of addressing the problem. They have lashed out and attacked the people who have made the accusations. History has a very recent example of these courses of action blowing up in a political body's face: The Catholic Church handled the molestation charges much the same way. That didn't work out so well for them.

The UN is great for humanitarian aid (as long as the peacekeepers aren't raping the children). However, these issues really need to be addressed. The UN's chief financial provider is demanding answers, and the UN is ignoring the question.

Originally posted by junglejake
Profound words. However, what would be really cool is to learn from your mistakes. That doesn't seem to be the case here. I read an interesting definition of insanity the other day:

The most people in the UN do learn from the mistakes, but unfortunately many new people in the UN dont.

That really seems to encompase the UN's idea for handling the Oil For Food scandal, along with all the other scandals rocking the UN. They have ignored the accusations, responding to them with the merrits of the UN instead of addressing the problem. They have lashed out and attacked the people who have made the accusations. History has a very recent example of these courses of action blowing up in a political body's face: The Catholic Church handled the molestation charges much the same way. That didn't work out so well for them.

The UN has made mistakes many of them, but so has every country.
The UN oil for food thing was bad, but I think instead of scrapping the whole thing why people focus on stopping those things happening?

The UN is great for humanitarian aid (as long as the peacekeepers aren't raping the children). However, these issues really need to be addressed. The UN's chief financial provider is demanding answers, and the UN is ignoring the question.

They are not being "ignored" , also I cant find anything to say how much each member state pays, only that america pays 22% which isnt supriseing since they are one of the "richer" ones.

Originally posted by devilwasp

The UN oil for food thing was bad, but I think instead of scrapping the whole thing why people focus on stopping those things happening?

That is my point exactly with this post. I'm not seeing that mentality in the UN right now. Rather than focusing on stopping bad things like the Oil For Food scandal, they're turning a blind eye. It's like the kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The parents bust him, and he responds to the accusations of stealing a cookie with, "look, I cleaned my room." Yeah, it's great he cleaned his room, the the cookie theft still needs to be addressed.

I'm not saying the UN should be scrapped. The leadership, on the otherhand...

Originally posted by junglejake
Americans continue to demand more from the UN.

You betchya. Like getting our money's worth. If the UN were
a business or corporation, it would have been out of business
a long time ago. The CEO would have been fired and/or been
in jail a long time ago.

Know what?? The UN IS a business. It's a money making
business. It's a den of thieves and illegal back room politicing.
AND it should be put out of business. My tax money is better
spent elsewhere.

And people, don't bother trying to 'enlighten' me about how
wonderful the UN is and the good things it does. The very
few good things it has managed to squeek out does not even
compare with the bad ... It's a dung heap.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
You betchya. Like getting our money's worth. If the UN were
a business or corporation, it would have been out of business
a long time ago. The CEO would have been fired and/or been
in jail a long time ago.

Right....and your saying we dont pay?

Know what?? The UN IS a business. It's a money making
business. It's a den of thieves and illegal back room politicing.
AND it should be put out of business. My tax money is better
spent elsewhere.

....Right and about 0% if that was fact.

And people, don't bother trying to 'enlighten' me about how
wonderful the UN is and the good things it does. The very
few good things it has managed to squeek out does not even
compare with the bad ... It's a dung heap.

Right and these compare to what our countries have done?
My country invented concentration camps yet is heralded as a "bringer of freedom" on TV in iraq , or so some make it to be.