Perhaps I woke up on the wrong side of bed. Maybe I didn’t have my bran muffin. I don’t know what possessed me to do it, but I got a little too carried away when I described the United Nations as a “tangled web of corruption and deceit.” Kent Kille made me happy on the morning that I read my very first letter of response. I did not shirk the possibility of continuing with my writing on the United Nations. Kille opened up a new door for me. I simply needed more space for describing the corrupt and deceitful ways of the United Nations. I must begin with a disclaimer. Some large organizations inherently fall victim to the weight of their responsibilities. Bookkeeping, the character of those brought into the organization, and other matters of administrative concern sometimes slither through the cracks. And another thing, I was also criticizing the United States for willingly giving all this money to the United Nations, knowing the things I’m going to tell you.First, I will again address our “debt” to the United Nations. The U.N.’s charter mentions no means of collecting money from members, including threats of voting privilege suspension. The Washington Times reported that the Pentagon spent $3 billion in 1997 alone for military operations implementing U.N. Security Council measures in Bosnia and Iraq. Does this mean the U.S. is paying this voluntarily out of kindness? If so, tough noogies for us. The U.N. likes voluntary contributions, but gives no credit for them. Conversely, I wonder if we had to pay to support these operations because they were in accordance with our government policies and no other nations could, or would, support us. “Money is a gas,” says Pink Floyd.Now, the important stuff. Did you know the average salary of a U.N. accountant is more than double that of a regular accountant? These salaries also are tax free. Besides regular salaries, U.N. employees get rent money and education grants of up to $12,675 per child. In a report of the Washington Post, Boutros Boutros-Ghali remarked, “Perhaps half of the U.N. work force does nothing useful.” It took guts to say that. It takes even more to do something about it.High-ranking U.N. officials based in Jordan were useful to the Bosnian towns of Bugojno and Travnik when they lent U.N. vehicles to smugglers trying to bring contraband into the country past checkpoints. They received money and prostitutes in return for their cooperation. Who treated? Islamic foreigners, entering Bosnia with U.S. approval, to defend the Muslim government. I thought we have problems with the more radical Muslim governments. What did we accomplish in this situation? Sounds defeatist to me. The U.N. and the involvement of the U.S. within should imply partiality and a wish for peace. This situation is tangled. I better cite my source here so I can’t be called on the carpet for it. This whoring and black marketeering report was found in an August 9, 1996 article of the Washington Times.Peter Hammond of Frontline Fellowship in Holocaust in Rwanda observed the mass murders of Rwanda. “Many of the mass murderers were employees of the international relief agencies,” he said. Even the U.N.’s own reports on peacekeeping missions have documented proof of prostitution (child or otherwise) within U.N. compounds. Some were employed by the U.N. and shipped on U.N. planes for the pleasure of one particular, unnamed U.N. staff member. The dirty deed was done in a hotel paid for by the U.N. This behavior is generally dismissed. Two Belgian U.N. peace keepers went to trial for the murder of an innocent Somali boy. They mysteriously walked away with an acquittal and a punishment equal to that for stealing in July of 1997. One U.N. spokesperson simply insisted afterward that “the U.N. is not in the habit of embarrassing governments that contribute peacekeeping troops.” With these troops wearing a U.N. uniform, the U.N. should be in the habit of doing something unless they want more egg on their face. Yeah, “tangled web of corruption and deceit” I think, is a suitable description of this organization. Of course, don’t forget about my disclaimer. This could happen in any bloated organization trying to take the world’s problems into their hands. Please don’t forget about the World Trade Organizaton!!!
Valerie Howland is a senior English and psychology major from Conneaut, Ohio.