Reason number 1,472,399 why the UN should be dissolved

Let me start by saying that there's no love loss between us and the UN. We believe it to be worthless in its efforts, and more of a problem than it is a help in practice. Today the BBC reveals that UN peacekeepers helped keep the misery alive in the Congo, which should come as no surprise to anyone:

The UN has covered up claims that its troops in Democratic Republic of Congo gave arms to militias and smuggled gold and ivory, the BBC has learned.

The allegations, based on confidential UN sources, involve Pakistani and Indian troops working as peacekeepers.

The UN investigated some of the claims in 2007, but said it could not substantiate claims of arms dealing.

UN insiders told the BBC's Panorama they had been prevented from pursuing their inquiries for political reasons.

The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Monuc) is the global body's largest, with 17,000 troops spread across the country.

The BBC's Martin Plaut, who returned to DR Congo to follow up his initial investigation into the allegations, says they have managed to bring a measure of stability since they were first established by the UN in February 2000.

They have also helped disarm the warring factions, run democratic elections and assisted with reconstruction.

But an 18-month BBC investigation for Panorama has found evidence that:

- Pakistani peacekeepers in the eastern town of Mongbwalu were involved in the illegal trade in gold with the FNI militia, providing them with weapons to guard the perimeter of the mines

- Indian peacekeepers operating around the town of Goma had direct dealings with the militia responsible for the Rwandan genocide, now living in eastern DR Congo

- The Indians traded gold, bought drugs from the militias and flew a UN helicopter into the Virunga National Park, where they exchanged ammunition for ivory

The UN looked into the allegations concerning the Pakistani troops in 2007.

It concluded that one officer had been responsible for dealing in gold - allowing traders to use UN aircraft to fly into the town, putting them up at the UN base and taking them around the town. ...

But returning to eastern DR Congo, the BBC spoke to several residents of the mining town of Mongbwalu, who said they had seen the FNI re-armed.

One former militant told our correspondent he had witnessed seven boxes of ammunition being brought from the UN camp to re-supply the FNI during a critical fire-fight.

Two FNI leaders known as "Kung-fu" and "Dragon", who have been jailed in the capital, Kinshasa, have stated publicly that they received help from the UN.

Kung Fu, whose real name is General Mateso Ninga, said: "Yes, it's true, they did give us arms. They said it was for the security of the country. So they said to us that we would help them take care of the zone."

The FNI has been described by Human Rights Watch as "some of the most murderous individuals that operate in eastern Congo".

And, of course the UN denies all of this. Their station chief in Congo, Alan Doss, gave his best "this would be of grave concern if true" line to the BBC. Seriously, is anyone surprised that the UN would do such things? If you are, welcome to planet Earth; you've been living under a Martian rock.

The UN is as worthless as can be, and serves no peaceful, humanitarian mission, save it's own for it's own selfish interests. The US needs to hand the UN an eviction notice, and turn Turtle Bay either into office space, or low-rent (for Manhattan, mind you) housing. And the sooner that comes around for us, the better off we'll be. The UN has no purpose in this world because it's nearly as corrupt as the regimes they claim to abhor. This is just another example of United Nations malfeasance.

Publius II