The Ongoing Destruction of the UN

If there is one thing that John Bolton has got right, it is his view on the UN. The UN has been remarkably ineffective over the course of the bombardment of Lebanon, despite Kofi Annan's best efforts. So, what has been the cause of the UN's ineffectiveness?? Without a doubt it has been the efforts of the US to ensure that their ally can continue to inflict massive civilian casualties in Lebanon (now over 800). Behind the facade of concern for human life, the US has been keen for Israel to pursue its military objectives regarding Hizbollah, no matter how many children are murdered. All this meaningless talk of 'sustainable ceasefires' is a nonsense given the amount of children that have been killed while the UN tries to get a unanimous call for an end to the hostilities. So what is the solution?

The use of the veto by America is clearly destroying the UN's ability to ensure peace around the world. It would be, in my opinion, a sensible move for veto rights to be removed from all members of the Security Council. The veto has become an obstruction to resolutions and to peace across the world. It is also seen as an abuse of power in relation to the situation in Israel, due to the US government's readiness to use it to halt any criticism, or punitive action towards Israel. I would also suggest that it would be wise to make more of the emerging countries/poorer countries permanent members, so that the rich and powerful don't hold all the cards. Perhaps then we might see some progression in the areas that are the root cause of the world's ills.