The majority of the member nations in the UN, are, by western standards, uncivilized and have no human rights standards.

To think that we should place the 'third world' nations in charge of the actions of the free world is, to be kind, stupid.

To suggest that the United Nations' General Assembly as a whole, rather than its Security Council, will take charge of further security measures in Iraq is, to be kind, misrepresentative.

To suggest the above in the face of the assurance that Iraqis will have the sovereign rights over their country in 5 weeks' time is, to be sure, silly. The United Nations could and would be asked to leave Iraq by the Iraqis themselves if it was felt it wasn't doing a good job.

And that's sort of the main point here: I'd bet my bottom dollar (or pound) that Iraqis would prefer UN troops over US troops in their country any day of the week. Not that they hate them: simply that they are threatened by what the US campaign there has become. It's what Iraqis want, not what the US wants, which matters.

It's also important to get a bit of distance at least, and remember that 'the actions of the free world' as a phrase is very, very wooly. I don't see the free world in Iraq. I see a massive contingent of US and UK troops topping the percentage list and the power structure. I don't see anything as evanescent as 'the free world' in charge.

And though the actions of the US and UK troops have, in the main, been competent, Occam's Razor teaches us that the most likely explanation for such a barrage of terrorist attacks within Iraq will be the simplest and most obvious one: that US and UK troops are there, that US and UK interests are attempting to run the show, and that this causes a convergence of terrorism there and a ready source of 'terrorist evangelism' both there and in other countries. It is their presence and their power which vastly reduce their credibility as a viable security force in Iraq.

When you want to get rid of wasps from your garden, do you, the person they hate most, rush straight for the nest and enrage them, attracting more wasps and disabling yourself and your ability to convincingly rid your garden of their presence? If you do that, you get stung far worse than you would have done if you'd been more painstaking and careful.

Here in Northern Ireland, there has been a long and painful tradition that when attacked by side A, side B gets mad and attacks right back, promising to annihilate side A, which just gets feeling threatened and furious and attacks side B again... no resolution whatever. We are seeing this pattern right now on the international stage enacted not with petrol bombs but with military assets. But the pattern itself is no different, and it doesn't rid anywhere of this thing called terror. Anywhere at all. Terror thrives on tit-for-tat. And whether that's international or national or local, it still thrives. Throwaway remarks about a free world and UN stupidity are pathetic tools with which to understand and solve a situation like that which exists in Iraq.

No doubt the Iraquis would love the UN troops setting up *new* rape rooms as they have just been charged with elsewhere. And how is Kosovo doing?
Ask any country in Africa how much they appreciate what the UN troops are doing for them.
I would rather have the worst corrupt stereotypical "hick sherriff" in charge of me than the UN.

Pete, would you prefer to have UN troops if you knew the UN had collaborated with a dictator who terrorized your country, troops that cut and run at the first bit of trouble?

Or would you prefer to have US troops because, thanks to them, that dictator is no longer in power?

dave,

i think the answer to your rhetorical question is not the one you think. i think it's pretty clear that the majority of iraqi's would prefer the UN to US troops, your personal feelings on the UN notwithstanding.

I agree with the John Birch Society: Get the U.S. out of the U.N. and get the U.N. out of the U.S.!

I must point out that Americans are no better than anyone. Read this article and prove that Americans are better than the rest of the world. Unless you think that child prostitution is not considered rape because to me, it is.

http://www.worldvision.org/worldvision/wvususfo.nsf/stable/globalissues_childprotection_sexexploit

And, note this on the article: "estimates that 25% of sex tourists worldwide are Americans, including U.S. military overseas"

Well, it's POSSIBLE that 25% is less than expected if we only go by economics.