Kofi Annan to the rescue
It was only a few months ago when it still appeared that Syria’s regime was doomed. The rebellion kept spreading and the violence kept increasing yet Assad could not kill too many civilians without provoking an intervention. He was very limited in what he could do, knowing that the threat of massacre provoked intervention in Libya. At the same time he could also not allow the protests to continue. This is why many people sensed the end was near.
But then, after months of protests and thousands of dead, just when it seemed Assad could not hold out much longer, the UN finally decided to act. Perhaps sensing that the time had come for another massacre/Nobel Peace Price Ban Ki-moon ordered Kofi Annan to head to Damascus. His mission? To negotiate between the rebels and the regime which was killing them. Now Assad could strike his opponents with as much force as he wished without having to worry about foreign interference. After all, why intervene in the Syrian conflict when Kofi Annan is negotiating a cease fire?
Behold: The power of diplomacy.
Russia’s foreign minister, Mr Lavrov, perhaps explained it best. The Russian vote to prevent intervention in Syria was not an act to protect the Assad regime. It was an act to protect international law. The United Nations does not serve justice and does not protect the weak. It’s function is to sustain the illusion of an international system of law and order so that Assad can finish the job.
After all, this is a civilized world. There are rules. And the rules say that a democracy which reflects the will of its people is just as legitimate as a dictatorship that crushes it. Which is of course wonderfully politically correct, and fantastically open minded, but also kind of messy. And that’s where the Kofi Annans of this world come in. It’s so much more comfortable to do nothing under the cover of negotiations than to openly admit we don’t give a damn. The Iranians figured this out as well which is why they will have nukes.
Since the UN has proven itself to be instrumental in helping Assad crush the Syrian rebellion, a person of lesser intelligence might perhaps wonder why we need this organization. After all it’s the UN which caused the Six Day War to break out by pulling out peace keeping forces from the Sinai. Thus causing the internationally deplored Israeli occupation of Judea and Samaria. It tricked the Muslims of Bosnia into believing Srebrenica was a save heaven only to abandon them to the butchers of Mladic. Its soldiers keep getting accused of trading food for sex, while its bureaucrats are amongst the most corrupt in the world.
So what is it good for, other than backing up dictatorships, causing misery, wasting money and forcing the United States to occasionally use its veto?
Thankfully this question will never be asked. The UN is worshiped by the Leftists of the West who regard it as the greatest expression of multicultural idealism known to man. To even consider the notion that the United Nations may be anything less than totally admirable and awesome is absolutely unacceptable to them. Since the Left controls the media and large parts of Western culture, chances are the UN will never be reformed or go away. If you are a dictator intending to commit mass murder, this is very good news indeed.
Most of the UN member states are authoritarian and most resolutions only require a simple majority. This means the UN is basically a much admired moral courtroom where dictators and monarchs, by virtue of the democratic principle they are denying their own people, are imposing their vision of morality on the rest of us who are still free. Very stupid people, also known as conservatives, might wonder why this is such a good idea. They clearly do not understand the value of being deceived.
There are many rewards the West receives for allowing the UN to be perverted. For example: We are provided with a much desired illusion of stability and the dream of a unified world which allows many a person on the left to denounce their more realistic neighbors as evil right-wing warmongers. In addition the UN is also the source of a never ending stream of anti-Israel resolutions so that those blind to injustice can at least blame all of the ills of the world on the Jews. What’s there not to like? In a world of illusions one needs to have imaginary enemies. Especially when the real ones are numerous and tend to chop of heads.
Though the body count in Syria may not have reached genocidal proportions, Annan’s disastrous intervention in the Syrian conflict rivals his achievements in Rwanda and Srebrenica and is similarly predictable in its outcome. Assad will prevail just like Saddam prevailed against the Shiites who rebelled against him in the early 1990ies. If ever there comes a moment to intervene in Syria it will be after every single potential ally has been slain. There may very well be a need to intervene sometime in the future because of all those weapons of mass destruction out there. But that is a worry for later. Right now the Syrian rebellion has revealed once again that the UN is a dictator’s best friend.