The United Nations…A Colossal Failure (Part 4, Final Episode)

The United Nations…A Colossal Failure (Part 4, Final Episode)
By Tommy Franks

Question? Can the United Nations be reformed? There is no end to the schemes proposed for reforming the United Nations. Unfortunately, most people approach the issue from the wrong assumption: that the chief problem is a lack of money. It is true that many nations "owe" billions to the UN. In September 1993, some 116 countries were behind in their payments while only 62 were paid in full. Two years later…little had changed. At the end of December 1995, 91 of 185 members had not paid their share of the regular UN budget.

Now listen to this. The secretary general recently suggested that the cure for the United Nations' financial woes is to give the UN world taxing authority and power (over all countries). That would enable the organization to raise revenues directly and would give the institution an unprecedented degree of independence. They would like to impose a surcharge on international airline tickets…charge a fee for all foreign exchange transactions…which would amount to $1 trillion per day world wide. Can you believe this?

Do we really want the UN as a world government levying a tax on American citizens? Are we not paying through the nose already in reference to taxes? The irony is: This would really enhance schemes and corruption and an utter lack of accountability. The United Nations has never been accountable to the United States or any country. Accountability cannot be mandated to the secretary general or the chief administrative officer according to the UN Charter. They have often spoken out and said that they cannot and will not be held accountable or responsible to the US or any country.

Some say that they need a radical reform agenda. I say, “We need to kick their rear-ends out of our country. Period!” Under its current Charter, how can the United Nations be made accountable or responsible in any meaningful sense of the term?

Before there can be any real reform for the UN, there must be a real independent audit. The UN must become accountable to their primary donors, especially the American people. We should halt any further support to an organization that is amok and inherently corrupt and unfixable. A thorough housecleaning is in order!

The lack of organizational coherence that characterizes the United Nations is especially abhorrent to affiliated agencies. One seasoned diplomatic correspondent observed that “most of the autonomous UN agencies rule their kingdoms like autocrats (a ruler who holds unlimited power and answers to no one). Some are like regional mafias!”

A comprehensive audit might take up to five years to complete. The scope of the inquiry should not be limited to fraud, waste, and theft, but rather, the approach should be based on zero-based budgeting. In other words, the audit needs to determine, not only whether the various bodies are effectively performing their missions, but also whether a particular mission is worth pursuing in the first place. Many of the UN programs are out of date and have no purpose except to give away money (mostly ours) in a haphazard manner.

As I alluded previously, one of the most egregious and blatant abuses in the UN is holding “international conferences” of no real value or worth. Last year they had a Summit for Social Development that was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. The summit featured over 100 world leaders. They focused primarily on poverty, job creation, and "solidarity." Their purpose was nebulous and fuzzy at best. The outcome was vague and indefinable. Since very little was accomplished, they decided to have another summit at a later date! Yeah, this makes good money sense! By the way, this nebulous and worthless conference cost the tax payer over $2.5 million.

What’s the conclusion of the whole matter? If the United Nations is to continue for another half century, more accountability and responsibility need to be required from its leaders and countries. It is high time to get rid of the “scratch my back…and I will scratch yours” philosophy and mentality. The organization needs a radical overhaul of their mission, method, manner, means, and mode. They need financial reform to the highest degree.

Some say that our U.S. Congress should play a large part in the UN reform or our total abandonment of the UN. After all, the UN has been generously subsidized by the American taxpayers; yet they have shown little regard for our interests. UN personnel do not have jobs and budgets by divine right…although most of them act as if they do. Nor can their privilege of utter unaccountability be tolerated much longer. A half century of experience with the United Nations has resulted in a review, evaluation, and analysis of its flaws. However, most UN personnel act as though they should be immune from such criticism.

Personally, my conclusion is two-fold: First, I do not think that the United Nations can be salvaged. However, if it can be salvaged, the burden of doing business (ROI) may exceed any prospective benefit. If we get real and strip away the sentimental, sloppy, and self-serving rhetoric, we will find that the UN is only a shell of impractical ideas and unachievable aspirations. Second, the UN as an international body is no longer “relevant to the times”…in initiating or obtaining world peace! I predict that it will eventually go by the way side like the Studebaker, Henry-J, Hudson, and Edsel automobiles! Good Day and have a good life! And oh yes, I approve of this message.