The cure that's worse than the disease

Nat Hentoff asks "Why are we still in the United Nations?"

The United Nations is increasingly becoming a parody of itself while American taxpayers last year provided $439 million to the regular U.N. budget - plus a headquarters in New York that the U.N. management wants to expand. Not only has this dysfunctional and occasionally corrupt organization failed to stop the genocide in Darfur, but on May 11, the insatiably brutal Robert Mugabe's government of Zimbabwe was elevated by the United Nations to chair its Commission on Sustainable Development - dealing with land, rural and economic development, and the environment.

Hentoff is way low with the official figure of $439 million, as Jesse Helms pointed out in his speech to the U.N. in 2000:

Last year, the American people contributed a total of more than $1.4 billion dollars to the U.N. system in assessments and voluntary contributions. That's pretty generous, but it's only the tip of the iceberg. The American taxpayers also spent an additional $8,779,000,000 from the United States' military budget to support various U.N. resolutions and peacekeeping operations around the world. Let me repeat that figure: $8,779,000,000.

Still, the U.S. is branded as a "deadbeat" nation at the United Nations, rebuffed by every country except Israel, yet almost single-handedly supports every administrative and peacekeeping function this East River cabal can dream up. (HT: Betsy)