Fallout From Gaming the System

Captain Ed notes that the Pentagon did not first run the news stories detailing the Iraqi documents that show Russia was providing assistance in March 2003, including detailed information about US battle plans and assets in the region through the Russians before publication:

Under normal circumstances with a country viewed as a diplomatic partner, if not an ally, both nations would engage in discussions about this kind of information before making it public, probably through high-ranking diplomats. The aggrieved nation would at least demand an explanation prior to showing its hand. The failure to do so by the US shows that this development has George Bush mad enough to expose Vladimir Putin and his government to the kind of political damage that could restart the Cold War. That may be because Bush understands that, just as with 9/11 and its precursor attacks, that war has already been declared by our enemy.

Ed notes that this is also the likely reason the CIA sought to keep these documents under wraps. That's quite a reason, as it affects the US diplomatic stance vis-a-vis Russia and how we intend to use the UN and other international organizations for furthering US goals.

There's also a story that the IAEA Chief Mohammad ElBaradei says that the UN Security Council is too often ineffective. This is an incredible statement considering the facts that continue to come out showing that the reason that the Security Council fails to act is because any number of countries have been coopted by third parties to prevent aggressive and timely action:

The U.N. Security Council has too often failed to act swiftly and effectively to contain international crises and needs to be reformed, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Saturday.

"Too often, the Security Council's engagement is inadequate, selective, or after the fact," said Mohamed ElBaradei, last year's Nobel Peace Prize winner.

"The tragedies of recent years in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Darfur are cases in point," he told an audience of mostly German dentists.

His criticism of the U.N. body responsible for maintaining international peace and security comes as its five permanent members struggle to agree on a draft statement rebuking Iran for pressing ahead with its nuclear enrichment program.

In an annual lecture organized by a Karlsruhe dental institute, the Egyptian diplomat said the 15-nation Security Council was still incapable of tackling violence in Sudan's troubled Darfur region.

There is no action on Darfur because China is preventing action. On Iraq, France, Germany, and Russia were preventing aggressive and timely action because it turns out all three were on Saddam's payroll - as per the UNSCAM/OFF documents and the documents captured in Iraq showing that Russia was actively assisting the Iraqis with intel on US and coalition battle plans and assets.

Oh, and what does ElBaradei suggest as a solution to fix the Security Council? Reform and expansion. Sorry, but that doesn't fix the problem. The problem lies in the members themselves, not the number. Russia appears to sway its vote according to the highest bidder. China would sway votes in a similar fashion. The Arab/Muslim countries would protect their own at all costs. Dictators tend to stick together on preventing action against fellow totalitarian regimes.

At least ElBaradei thinks that Iran's nuclear program isn't wholly peaceful. That's a relief. Too bad ElBaradei and the IAEA have done nothing to stem the tide of nuclear proliferation (for which they received a Nobel Prize).