I intended to begin tracking the scandal which was the UN Oil-For-Food Program. But on doing a simple Google search, I found there are many people out there much better equipped to do the leg work on the issue. ABC News is beginning to look hard at the program, and Claudia Rosett has an in-depth piece in Commentary. There are also several blogs keeping tabs: Friends of Saddam is devoted to the issue, and Roger Simon keeps up to date. I will continue to follow these sites and update here as I see fit.
What is of interest to me in this whole thing is the misguided concept of the UN as a world governing body. It is nowhere close to what we, as Americans, would ever view as a representative government, although there are Americans who would like it to be so.
The problem is that most of the world is governed or ruled by political “elites.” These are people who have built political connections and close relationships through generations. Even our own Federal Government was set up with these people in mind. The Senate was to be populated with our own American elite class of politicians. The Constitution sets out selection of senators by the legislatures of each State. This changed only by Amendment. Balance was to be provided by the establishment of the House of Representatives, whose members would be elected by citizens in each state.
With the growth of our population, even our Congressmen are elected from among party activists rather than from the general populace, although the occasional Mr. Smith makes his way to Washington. Running for office requires the freedom to quit your job for the campaign duration, and contacts with people who can donate bucks. Think “lawyers”.
In most of the world, however, the idea of a Mr. Smith even thinking of a run for office is absurd. Tony Blair wasn’t elected Prime Minister by the people of Britain, he was elected by his party, who have the majority of seats in Parliament. He serves at the pleasure of his party. The same is true in almost all parliamentary governments. Other nations don’t even bother with elections except in closed-door discussions. Their political leadership come from a very select group. And the UN reflects that. Ever hear of Kofi Annan before he became the Secretary General? He was working within the bureaucracy of the UN much like his son is now–you know, one of those accused of skimming Oil-For-Food money?
I have yet to find a single way in which the UN has ever accomplished anything. There have been successes under the UN flag, but each of those has been the result of devoted attention by a single or pair of nations, often the US, Australia, Canada, or UK. More often, we end up with Rwanda or the decades-long peace-keeping duty like that in Cyprus.
I am for the dissolution of the UN. If this is the straw that breaks this particular back, I applaud the Oil-For-Food scandal. It may be the only way for the world to honor the Iraqis who died under Saddam Hussein.
UPDATE: There are a couple of more avenues for reading up on this. But there is a money quote from the lead crook I picked up at InstaPundit:
Before Sevan’s recent mysterious disappearance into the nether world, facilitated by boss Annan, who shrewdly packed him off on long leave before retirement, Sevan nonchalantly admitted, ” that as much as 10 percent” of the programme’s revenues may have been “ripped off,” telling a TV channel: “Even if 10 percent of the revenue was stolen, 90 percent got to the people it was intended for. Why does nobody report that?” he asked peevishly.
There you have it. “I deserve my cut.” Cast an eye on Scott Burgess’ view from London, and another from CBC News.