The UN At Its Best

Diplomad reports that the UN has demonstrated proficiency in quite a number of things.

The UN clearly excels at: conferring; meeting; coordinating for essentials such as 24-hour catering service for its officials at luxury hotels; taking credit for the actions of others; and announcing in glowing terms what they are doing and accomplishing. And what exactly have they accomplished to date? It thus far appears to be predominantly: conferring; meeting; coordinating for 24-hour catering service for its officials at luxury hotels; taking credit for the actions of others; and announcing in glowing terms what they are doing and accomplishing.

What they don’t seem to have accomplished much of, thus far, is actually delivering badly needed water, medical supplies, food, shelter, and basic health services to the millions of people impoverished and devastated by last month’s earthquake and tsunami. It’s those god-awful Americans – who are, you must understand, “very bad at coordinating” things like this – and their Australian (and Indian and Malaysian) allies that appear to be handling the bulk of those insignificant tasks thus far.

The UN - keeping its priorities straight. That's where it gets its moral authority from, no doubt.