Oil-for-Fraud;Time to Close the UN

I realize that most people who read The Eclectic Econoclast are likely, also, to read Mark Steyn, but I cannot resist posting a link to this piece about the corruption at the UN for those of you who do not read him regularly [h/t to BenS for the link]. Here are some choice excerpts:

Despite the current investigations into his brother, his son, his son's best friend, his predecessor's cousin, his former chief of staff, his procurement officer and the executive director of the UN's biggest ever program, the secretary-general insists he remains committed to staying on and tackling the important work of "reforming" the UN.

Unfortunately, his executive co-ordinator for United Nations reform has also had to resign.

... We only know [about the extent of the corruption] because the US invaded Iraq and the Ba'athists skedaddled out of town, leaving copious amounts of paperwork relating to the Baghdad end of Oil-for-Fraud, since when Claudia Rosett and a few other dogged journalists have been systematically unstitching the intricate web of family and business relationships around the UN's operations.

YOU'D THINK that by now respect for the UN would be plummeting faster than Benon Sevan's auntie down that elevator shaft. After all, these aren't peripheral figures or minor departments. They reach right into the heart of UN policy on two of the critical issues of the day – Iraq and North Korea...