Hypocrisy and Impotence

“Seinfeld” fans will remember that episode where Jerry goes to rent a car. He goes to the rental agency and is told by a woman that they’ve run out of cars even though he made a reservation. He proceeds to tell them what a reservation is and this woman tells him that she is aware of how a reservation works. But he explains that anyone can take a reservation but it’s the holding of the car that matters.

This rental agency reminds me of the United Nations, making up resolutions all the time that they have no intention of enforcing. 17 times they have made up resolutions that were supposed to get Saddam Hussein to account for all his weapons of mass destruction and destroy them, and all these countries signed their names to them. 17 times Saddam has laughed and given the United Nations the finger. Should a leader like Saddam have gotten all these chances? What would more time have accomplished? Why didn’t the United Nations go through with their first resolution? Isn’t it just a little ridiculous to keep making up resolutions if you have no intention of enforcing them?

Time and time again the United Nations has failed to live up to the very reasons it was created. If you don’t believe me just ask Rwanda. While the Hutus and the Tutsi slaughtered each other and everyone in sight, the Belgian troops were kicking back with a few beers. The United Nations could have stopped all this, but it didn’t.

Or take the first Gulf War for another example. George H.W. Bush wanted to go to Baghdad and get Saddam out of there. The United Nations and Colin Powell convinced him that he should remain in power. They believed that Saddam could be contained. Anyone remember what happened when Europe tried to contain Hitler?

Let’s face it…the United Nations isn’t the bastion of peace it would like to be. It’s the bastion of hot air. Look what country is in charge of disarmament: Iraq. Maybe just a little conflict of interest there, you think? Even better is what country is in charge of human rights: Libya. That’s right the very same people who brought you Lockerbie are in charge of watching out for human rights.

What I find interesting is that the United Nations wants everyone to believe that Iraq is a U.N. problem and they will decide when to go to war. However, when it comes to a country that has nuclear weapons and the willingness to sell them to the highest bidder, like North Korea, the U.N. wants the United States to handle it on our own. Nuclear weapons are a global problem so it’s a U.N. issue. The problem came out of our good comrades Russia and China giving North Korea the weapons and technology. But the United Nations isn’t making big bucks off North Korea so it becomes a U.S. issue. I believe hypocritical is the word I’m looking for.

Now after the United States and Britain made them look bad, they want in on Iraq. Oh I see: now that the fighting is done, you look powerless. Or is it that coalition troops are finding evidence of weapons of mass destruction? Or is it that they want to control the oil fields? Whatever their intentions are they aren’t very magnanimous. Just look at what coalition troops are finding on these troops and in these bunkers. Everything is stamped with “made in France,” “Germany,” or “Russia.” Russia, it looks like, was helping Iraq during the war. The French embassy in Damascus, is printing up visas for Saddam’s family and henchmen as we speak. Syria has given safe haven to Saddam’s family and top leaders. These are just some of the countries that make up that stronghold of peace and goodwill we call the United Nations. Is the United Nations really something the United States needs to be a part of?