Screw The U.N.

Probably more noteworthy than Bush unburdening himself before an open mike at the G-8 summit yesterday was the fact that he seemed to care less about it.  Taking GDub’s brunt was Kofi Annan for failing to stand up to Syria and for advocating an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon.

If I say U.N., you say what?  Corrupt ineffectual body filled with grandstanding subversive bit players and conniving superpower wannabes?  Yes, the U.N. has plenty of failings.  Does that mean, however, it should be replace in favor of invitation-only bar-b-ques at the Cheney’s?

Interesting how the same day a confluence of world leaders were calling for an immediate and expanded U.N. force on the Israel – Lebanon border, Bush would dump on the viability of U.N. involvement in the region.  I guess that’s understandable, however, ever since the U.N. become the relief spot for cowboys looking to stomp on their next evil axis member.

The day before all this focus on blue helmets, The BAG was scanning the wires for related imagery.  The one shot that stood out was this one at WAPO on Saturday.  There was not much context however.  The caption read:  A man hurls a stone at a U.N. vehicle carrying bodies away from the Tyre hospital. (From what I’ve read, the out-matched UNIFIL — the U.N. force in Lebanon — spent most of this week ferrying civilians to safety.)

Really, its a photo only a neocon could love.

Of course, Israel has no passion for UNIFIL, concluding the mission has been largely ineffective, and that the force has looked the other way as Hezbollah positioned munitions inside the Lebanese border.  And for the “other side,” well,  just look at the pic for agency cred on the Arab street.

Given the intense danger of the current crisis, coupled with the attitude among Washngton’s apocalyptic war heads that all roads lead to Tehran, its no wonder the most prominent contemporary shot of U.N. forces I could find portrayed an faceless entity bearing the brunt of hostility while beating a slow retreat.

So cheers to BushCo., hissing with blame as the world bleeds.  “Let he who is blessed cast the next stone!”

(image: Hassan Ammar/AFP-Getty.  Tyre, Lebanon.  July 15, 2006.  Via washingtonpost.com)