Oil for Blood

Earlier this week, Kofi "Reform is not Our Job" Annan got very mad at a London Times reporter that asked questions about certain UN impropriety. He called the reporter an embarrassment to his colleagues and his profession. Based on the information unearthed by Paul Volcker's inquiry, summarized here:

...the cumulative management performance of the Secretary-General fell short of the standards that the United Nations Organization should strive to maintain.

Claudia Rosett provides the following translation:

Backed up by thousands of pages produced by a $35 million 18-month investigation, that is perhaps a way of diplomatically suggesting that Annan himself is — how to put this? — an embarrassment to his colleagues and his profession?

As a child, I had respect and admiration for the UN. It seemed such a noble concept, but Annan's behavior confirms what I have learned as an adult- the United Nations is unable to fulfill even the most basic tasks without corruption and incompetence. As Rosett suggest, Annan's angry response suggests the questions still outnumber the answers.