If you've ever tried to learn parlor tricks, or watched a parlor magician do their routine, you know the one Golden Rule is "the hand is quicker than the eye." A wave and a flourish of one hand and your eyes fly there. Meanwhile, the magician hides away the coin/scarf/rabbit with the other hand before you remember to pay attention. Magicians rely on this kind of misdirection and sleight of hand to make their living -- if you saw the actual workings of the trick, the act wouldn't be that entertaining, would it?
And so it goes with the U.N. Many are distracted by the elaborate hand-waving done by the international organization, and few take enough time to watch closely and see the dirty tricks getting pulled on them.
A wave and some fervent shouting about one U.S. soldier shooting a wounded Iraqi "insurgent" -- never mind that many of them had been faking death and booby-trapping bodies -- and you'll never notice the French U.N. Peacekeeping troops opening fire on unarmed civilians in the Ivory Coast.
Kofi Annan pontificates about sending the "sternest possible warning" to government-armed Arab militias in Sudan to stop raping and terrorizing non-Muslim Sadanese refugees (a terrible event that deserves more than mere U.N. hand-wringing at its cruelty), while U.N. workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo stand accused of rape, pedophilia and prostitution -- and this is far from the first time U.N. workers have committed such acts. Meanwhile, Annan arbitrarily dismisses a sexual harassment investigation against one of the top U.N. officials.
U.N. officials all over the world decry the United State's "war for oil" in Iraq, hoping that no one notices that what they are decrying is the end of their opportunity to profit from illicit oil sales from Saddam's regime. Even when the trail of corruption leads straight up to the Secretary-General's son, they simply deny knowledge and shift the topic. Keep the audience guessing, no matter what.
Why all of this hand-waving, all of these smoke and mirror acts designed to keep the rest of the world from seeing the dirty underbelly of the U.N.? Could it be to keep us from reading the handwriting on the wall that the powerful at the U.N. have already seen -- that the U.N. is a corrupt and dying organization, in denial about its problems and in flagrant violation of its own vaunted principles? Could it be that the longer the truth about the U.N. is kept from the world, the longer Kofi Annan and his ilk can lay hold of power?
Many have recently begun to call for Kofi Annan's resignation. While that may be a start, it will do little to solve problems that are systemic and deep, such as an almost total lack of accountability for troops deployed on U.N. missions. The U.N. was established with a noble set of ideas to be sure, but they have fallen by the wayside to those who would rather profit from dictators than oppose them. It is in dire need of radical reform, yet sadly there is little chance of that happening while those in power in the U.N. gain so much from their positions.
Maybe I'd be better off just watching the off-hand do its magic -- I'd probably sleep easier at night.
Write to Tim at
tabirkel@bsu.edu
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
