UN Failing Darfur Again

The left always likes to say that the world's ills can be solved by the United Nations. Here's a clue. It can't. It wont.

And those most in need of assistance suffer as a result.

Darfur is exhibit A:

Facing its most ambitious peacekeeping deployment ever in Darfur, the United Nations soon might face "humiliation" — as the Sudanese government, rebel groups, troop- and equipment-contributing countries, the U.N.'s own peacekeeping department, and the General Assembly's budgetary organ blame each other for the force's failure, officials say.

The head of the U.N. peacekeeping department, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, yesterday said that beyond such humiliation in Darfur, all U.N. peacekeeping may face a "setback" if the mission there fails. Speaking at the Security Council, he detailed the hardships in deploying 26,000 troops under the joint command of the U.N. and the African Union. The mission lacks critical equipment, such as at least 18 helicopters to move the troops around in the vast Darfur area, and no contributors have offered any. Khartoum, meanwhile, has banned several countries from contributing troops and know-how. Also, Darfur rebels told engineers from Sudan's ally China that they were unwelcome.

American officials privately are expressing frustration at the slow pace of peacekeeping department's planning and execution of the Darfur deployment. But on the General Assembly's budget committee, some criticized a $250 million contract that was awarded to a California-based subsidiary of Lockheed Martin to build infrastructure for the mission — which U.N. officials say they needed to award on a no-bid basis to hasten the deployment at Darfur.

Meanwhile, in Darfur, little hope exists that on January 1 — when the so-called "hybrid force" is scheduled to replace an 8000-troop force under sole command of the African Union — it will have the capacity to do much better in protecting civilians than its "inadequate" predecessor.