Amidst a post on Haditha and the American military's ability to investigate itself, Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds can't resist landing a cheap shot against the UN, which he claims has been unwilling to investigate abuses in peacekeeping missions. The opposite is true.
"A United Nations Security Council delegation begins talks today with Sudanese government officials to press demands for a UN peacekeeping force to help end fighting in the western region of Darfur.
In his recent testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ambassador Bolton announced that the U.S. is "prepared to consider" a 90-day extension of the spending cap that threatens to disrupt invaluable UN operations at the end of this month.
However, he also acknowledged that "it hasn't met with a lot of support," and that "it's an indication ... that we're not trying to force this to an issue on the 30th [of June]."
"The upcoming national election in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is not only a huge logistical undertaking but could shape the future of the rest of Africa, says former U.S. ambassador Bill Swing, who now heads up the 17,000-man United Nations peacekeeping force MONUC.
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
Tony Ferguson previews World Environment Day.
Steve Clemons suggests that "Iran will continue to try and split the five UN Security Council members."
Abhi at Sepia Mutiny blogs about AIDS in India.
Derek Chollet discusses Tony Blair's "far-reaching" ideas for UN Reform.
Captain's Quarters, a leading conservative blog, uses a standard anti-UN tactic: make gross generalizations about UN peacekeepers from a few bad examples. Captain Ed might want to take a look at this RAND study (pdf) which suggests the UN is better suited for peacekeeping missions than the U.S., finding it not only more efficient but also more effective.
Instapundit links to a Max Boot piece rebutted here by UN Dispatch's new featured blogger, Mark Goldberg.
Spork in the Drawer has more on Boot: "Boot conveniently fails to note that mercenaries don't fall under any laws or rules." (Hat tip: Busy, Busy, Busy)
In Wednesday's Los Angeles Times, Max Boot revisits the idea of sending mercenaries to Darfur in lieu of U.N. peacekeepers. This is something of a pet idea among a category of foreign policy thinkers in the United States who are generally skeptical about humanitarian interventions, but nonetheless want to "do something" about Darfur. Nikolas Gvosdev, editor of realist journal The National Interest, for example, raised this idea at a Cato Institute event in March.