Fresh ideas at the UN

I’ve long thought the UN irredeemably corrupt, with the miserable Kofi Annan merely a symptom, not a cause of the problem there. I’m wondering, though, if I might have to revise that thinking just a little bit, in light of something new at UNIFIL. Thanks to Laer, at Cheat-Seeking Missiles, I’ve learned that UNIFIL has gotten rid of the French commander brought in after the Israel-Hezbollah war — the one who thought his mandate was to prevent Israel at all costs from defending herself — and has replaced him with an Italian commander who has a strong reputation in anti-terrorism work:

The IDF on Sunday praised the United Nations’ decision to appoint Italian Gen. Claudio Graziano as the new head of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.

Graziano, whose appointment has yet to be officially announced, is scheduled to take up his new post by mid-February, when French Maj.-Gen. Alain Pellegrini steps down after three years in the post.

“He is a serious officer,” IDF sources said of Graziano. “He takes his job seriously and we expect to see a continued crackdown on Hizbullah under his command.”

Graziano rose through the ranks in Italy’s Artillery Corps and commanded NATO’s Kabul Multinational Brigade in the past. He has extensive experience in combating insurgency and terrorism, according to the IDF.

Laer adds the right grace note to the above information:

When you think of it, the appointment of a terror-fighter to head the UN in Lebanon should not leave an odd, confused feeling. But it does, doesn’t it? If the UN’s mission is to promote world peace, why hasn’t it stood shoulder to shoulder with us to fight the greatest threat to world peace the world has faced since the Axis Powers?

I opened this post by saying there might be some fresh air blowing at the UN. However, I recognize that one appointment does not a trend make. Let’s see what other stories come out of the UN in the upcoming months when it comes to backing democratic stability and attacking tyrannical terrorism.

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