UN Shills Caught Flat-Footed

Humiliated by Volcker Report

Kofi Annan must have breathed a sigh of relief when Hurricane Katrina pushed the Volcker report off Page One. As the Wall Street Journal put it today, the improprieties revealed in the report are so immense that it is plain that "the U.N. is Oil for Food." Press accounts today say that Kofi is hanging on to his job by his fingernails.

In light of the magnitude of this report, it's no surprise that the response of UN shills has been muted.

The UN's biggest defender--the Payola Pundit, UN consultant-correspondent Ian Williams of The Nation--was so humiliated by the report, which decisively contradicts his kneejerk defense of his onetime employer, that he has been hiding under his desk. The best he could do is tell something called the Kansas City InfoZine that "the Volcker Report lacks a sense of proportion."

Yeah, right. Indictments are so one-sided, aren't they? Still, I expect that Williams and the other hacks in the UN press corps, noted for their slavish devotion to the UN and its officials, can be expected to come in with a stirring response. And who knows? If they play their cards right, they too can get nice gigs hosting UN-produced television programs, like former UN correspondent assn. president Tony Jenkins. Or they can get work performing media training for the UN like Williams.

So let's go, guys! The UN's image needs help. Don't be shy. Come out swinging. Besides, if you play nice, a nice UN job may be in your future. If ever there was a need for media training at the UN, it is now.