U.N. Breaks Ground on Renovations to Headquarters, But Will it Break the Bank?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I'd rather not think about what the world would have gone through since WWII and what it would look like today if it wasn't for the UN.

Edited May 7, 2008 by Mr. Big Dog

[GaryC 7]

I'd rather not think about what the world would have gone through since WWII and what it would look like today if it wasn't for the UN.

I dare say there wouldn't be much difference. If there is it would be for the better. The UN is a joke. It was a mistake from the begining. Screw the UN.

[GaryC 7]

UN peacekeepers 'traded gold and guns with Congolese rebels'

Roxanne Escobales guardian.co.uk, Monday April 28 2008

This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Monday April 28 2008.

It was last updated at 11:40 on April 28 2008.

The UN today faced fresh allegations against peacekeeping troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as a BBC investigation uncovered evidence of illegal gold trading and arms deals with violent rebel groups.

The UN mission in Congo (Monuc) troops implicated in the scandal come from Pakistan and India. Charges of misconduct were also made last year.

The Pakistani troops, stationed in the eastern town of Mongbwalu, were accused of illegally trading gold with the notorious FNI militia, as well as arming them to guard the perimeter of the goldmines.

Indian troops stationed around the town of Goma face charges of having widespread dealings with the violent FDLR militia, the former Rwandan army that fled to Congo after the genocide of 1994.

Accusations included the illegal buying of gold from the FDLR; the use of a UN helicopter to fly into the Virunga national park to exchange ammunition for ivory; trading UN rations for gold; the purchase of drugs from the rebels; and a general failure to support the disarmament of the group.

Last year, the UN investigated the allegations against the Pakistani troops and concluded that one officer was responsible for trading gold with the rebels. It could not, however, find evidence that the Pakistanis had traded arms and ammunition with dangerous rebel militias.

At the time, the head of the all UN peacekeeping operations, Jean-Marie Guehenno, closed the inquiry. "The investigation has found no evidence of gun smuggling. But it has identified an individual who seemed to have facilitated gold smuggling. We have shared the report with the concerned troop-contributing country and I am confident they will take the required action. And this issue is closed."

But according to the BBC's Panorama programme, the UN has blocked damning evidence for political reasons because Pakistan contributes the largest number of troops to the UN.

"Within a few days I'd come across exactly the evidence the UN said it couldn't find," said the BBC Africa analyst, Martin Plaut.

Some of that evidence includes interviewing two FNI commanders - General Mateso "Kung Fu" Ninga and "Dragon" Masasi – from their prison cells in the capital city of Kinshasa.

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."

Another witness, a former militant, said: "Kung Fu and Dragon Masasi, they went to the [Pakistani] camp in Mongbwalu and from there they came with seven boxes of ammunition, which were given to the combatants. The combatants brought this ammunition to the camp to fight the national army."

But the head of Monuc, Alan Doss, said these witnesses were not trustworthy: "Militia leaders are militia leaders. They always have their interests, if you will. All I can say is this investigation didn't confirm that."

But he said if the allegations were true, it would be devastating: "The effort to re-arm militias would be of great concern to us. We've lost lives in fighting these militias, let's not forget that."

The Pakistani army maintains that there is no evidence linking its troops with illegal gold and arms dealing.

A UN investigation into the charges against the Indian peacekeepers found evidence against three soldiers illegally dealing in gold and unlawfully detaining a trader. But it found there was not enough evidence to act against any of the other charges.

The Indian government described the alleged gold trading as a "trivial case", but said the three Indian soldiers would be disciplined if found guilty.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/2...o.unitednations

Edited May 7, 2008 by GaryC

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

UN peacekeepers 'traded gold and guns with Congolese rebels'

4 Marines Charged In Haditha Killings

Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse

What's your point? That shite don't happen when the UN isn't involved? Puhleeze.

[William33 110]

All BS aside, why renovate a dilapidated building in NYC at that cost? 1.9 billion? #######?

Why not build something new, at 300-500 million in the burbs somewhere in the US, if it must remain on US soil for security reasons?

If not, it could be built for slightly more in another "safe" location.