Has the UN lost all credibility

[BridgeTroll]

The U.N. is far from perfect, but we shouldn't dismiss an organization that provides humanitarian
assistance and promotes improvements in the health of the world’s peoples.

I would be happy if they would stick to that...

[Dog Walker]

In the early '60's, while still young and idealistic, I was the President of the United Nations Association at my university.  Because of holding that position, I was able to spend several weeks at the UN in New York inside the various directorates.  The UN was less that twenty years old at the time.

What I saw even then led me to immediately resign my office and advocate that the UN be moved out of New York to Geneva and that the US greatly reduce contributions and involvement.  

Even then it was clear that the UN was a bloated, corrupt, venal and ineffective organization and it has gotten worse since then.  There may have been some use for the organization during the cold war as a place that debates could take place and bribes passed to other countries by the two blocs, but there is no use for it now.  The few good programs that manage to squeeze some money out of the bureaucrats could easily be replaced or made independent.

[buckethead]

The U.N. is far from perfect, but we shouldn't dismiss an organization that provides humanitarian
assistance and promotes improvements in the health of the world’s peoples.

The United Nations has quietly upped this year's peacekeeping budget for earthquake-shattered Haiti to $732.4 million, with two-thirds of that amount going for the salary, perks and upkeep of its own personnel, not residents of the devastated island.

The world organization plans to spend the money on an expanded force of some 12,675 soldiers and police, plus some 479 international staffers, 669 international contract personnel, and 1,300 local workers, just for the 12 months ending June 30, 2010.

Some $495.8 million goes for salaries, benefits, hazard pay, mandatory R&R allowances and upkeep for the peacekeepers and their international staff support. Only about $33.9 million, or 4.6 percent, of that salary total is going to what the U.N. calls "national staff" attached to the peacekeeping effort.

http://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/042010_budgetdocument.pdf

Fox News? yup... with a UN document as a source.

[ChriswUfGator]

Well after reading this thread, some credibility has certainly been lost, but I'm not sure if it's the UN's...

World of Warcraft? LMAO

[Jim]

If credibility were arbitrarily started at 100%, the UN has most certainly lost a bit since inception.

Not to reduce the value of the humanitarian efforts they do provide, but they do tend to offset their positives with some pretty nasty negatives.