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The U.N. Exposed: How the United Nations Sabotages America's Security and Fails the World

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Conservatives have had problems with the United Nations since it was Wilson's League of Nations. The reasons are many and during the Cold War an extreme wing saw in this organization the vehicle for the totalitarian subjugation of the United States. Nearly everyone, including the vast majority of conservatives rejects such notions, but the problems with this international organization remain. Why?

This fine book will show you in a clear and timely fashion what is going on at the United Nations and it will make your blood boil. You will likely see why many have wondered why we continue to spend billions per year supporting such a dysfunctional and, well, corrupt group of bureaucrats who work for various forms of kleptocrats (klepping as many American aid dollars as they can - after all YOU can afford to have some of your tax dollars going to Swiss bank accounts for various foreign ministers, right?).

Eric Shawn does a great job of reporting. He starts off by taking us through the looking glass into what he calls U. N. World. It is a place of privilege, unaccountability, and inverted incentives (where it pays to fail at ones goals - in order to get more funding in order to continue the failure more expensively). Shawn then shows us how the press corps that is supposed to cover the U. N. really does all it can to aid and abet those in power. It is really an odd experience for anyone used to reading the American press tearing into those in power here.

Next, the author shows us how the members of the U.N. are really quite united behind the concept of anti-Americanism. This is so because the majority of the member nations are not democracies and resent any idea that their governments should become more open. Then there is the strange dance that has developed over decades that involves blaming America in a way that ends up with getting more American funding in order to appease the accusations of guilt. Given the power of the United States, it is natural that people would unite in a way to maximize their ability to balance this power. Even among the five permanent members of the Security Council, it has evolved that America and Britain are opposed by France (our SUPPOSED ally), Russia (our supposed new ally), and China (our supposed trading partner). Shawn lays all this out clearly and understandably. I love Shawn's quote from Hosni Mubarak that foreign aid is taking money from the poor of rich countries and giving it to the rich of poor countries. Perfect!

The second half of the book takes us through the Oil for Food scandal bureaucrat by bureaucrat and nation by nation. Shawn shows us how nakedly corrupt the U. N. was in this affair and why those who opposed us toppling the regime in Iraq did so. They were all doing business with Iraq in ways that violated the sanctions and were on Saddam's payroll, more or less. We see things like a $174 million dollar missile system delivered as a boiler system and much, much more. Many of those who were pushing for the sanctions to be lifted were being more or less paid to do so.

The worst was the constant chorus of those complaining of the tens of thousands of deaths caused by the sanctions. In fact, there were billions upon billions of dollars diverted from food and medicines to save those people (however, the number of deaths were also vastly inflated - Saddam accumulated the bodies of dead babies to re-used for photo-ops) and instead went for the dictator's palaces, proscribed purchases of weapons systems, and bribes and payoffs to foreign officials to look the other way and to argue Saddam's case on the world stage.

A fine and interesting book that will provide you with information you won't easily get from the popular media.

In this eye-opening book, the author reveals how the UN has descended into a mire of hypocrisy, incompetence, corruption and criminality. The organization has utterly betrayed its noble founding mission to prevent wars and promote world peace and co-operation.

It has in essence been transformed into a criminal gang that, amongst other activities, supports oppressive regimes, accepts bribes, enables terrorism, ignores the continued sexual exploitation of women by its so-called peacekeepers, failed to prevent the Rwandan genocide in 1994 or the Srebrenica massacre in 1995, scapegoats Israel and blames the USA for everything.

The author examines the Oil for Food scandal in great detail, also discussing its implications for the future. He exposes the sympathetic relationship of the media covering it with the bureaucrats of the world body and how reluctant these journalists are to report on scandals like the aforementioned Oil for Food fraud.

Ambassadors to the UN, even those from dirt-poor countries, live in opulent style, are exempt from sales tax and enjoy diplomatic immunity. This lifestyle is really funded by the American taxpayer since the US provides 22% of the UN budget.

When its failures and corruption are made public the organization ducks and dives and does everything possible to escape accountability and avoid reform. It is a complete disgrace and a blot on humanity.

Other books that confirm Shawn's revelations and provide further evidence are Global Deception by Joseph Klein, Tower Of Babble by Dore Gold, Inside The Asylum by Jed Babbin and The UN Gang by Juan Sanpedro. I highly recommend all of them to gain a comprehensive understanding of this loathsome and dangerous organization.

Eric Shawn has written a solidly researched book which informs and enlightens as it profoundly disturbs. It offers example after example (each one documented) of the hypocrisy, dysfunction and corruption that seems to have overtaken the World Body.

As someone who considers herself liberal, I found myself aghast as Shawn's book describes the blatant hypocrisy inherant in the lives of self-indulgent excess that diplomats from even the poorest countries seem to enjoy under the UN auspices, even as as their fellow countrymen starve.

Shawn's book raises interesting questions about the Iraqi war, which he interestingly points out might very well been avoided had the Security Council enforced its resolutions. One also has to ask oneself how France and Russia might have voted re. multi-lateral military action had they not been bribed by Sadaam. The book also makes the irrefutable argument that the UN has been utterly inept it dealing with some of most horrific international events of recent years ( (Bosnia,Rwanda, Darfur are but a few examples). And a hard-to-argue-with point Shawn makes is that in showing that it is either unwilling or incapable in dealing with international threats to security, the UN has ironically made the world a more dangerous place by empowering those would threaten it.

As Shawn's book details, under the UN supervised Oil for Food program, billions of dollars in aid for the needy of Iraq were diverted to corrupt businessmen and corporations, as Sadamm essentially bribed the Security Council. Never mind the traditional well-worn argument that the UN cannot be blamed for the behavior of its member states. The undeniable fact remains that the program was run by the UN, and as such, the UN was responsbile for administering it in an efficient and ethical way. In this, it failed miserably, and the ensuing graft took food and medicine from needy children to further enrich corrupt businessmen and corporations. Where's the liberal outrage over this???

I wonder if those those readers who label Shawn anti-UN or "right wing" have perhaps not read the book in its entirety. Shawn concedes that there are many at the UN who still do their jobs with dedication and integrity... indeed part of his dedication is to those UN workers (and for the reviewer who takes exception to the quality of Shawn's reasoning and grammar, let me argue that indeed, one can work within an organization and not necessarily be synonymous with its beaurocracy.) Shawn also makes it clear that he believes there is a need for a world body, and that he is against-- not the UN or its founding ideals -- but a corrupt and inept UN. Hard to argue with, regardless of one's political affiliation I would think. He concludes the book by, possibly overly optimistically, holding out hope that aggressive reform will perhaps salvage the UN's relevance on the world stage.

And to the reviewer/"reader" who states, I believe for the second time but this time with an added star(!), that in his television work Shawn shows bias and doesn't ever interview anyone, allow me to say that is hardly the case. Whenever I have had occasion to catch him on air, I have always found Shawn measured and solid in his broadcasting and I have personally seen him interview many key players in this UN saga, including Kofi Anaan, Benan Sevan and Paul Volker. As for broadcasting from outside the UN on First Avenue, my guess is that he probably goes live from a satellite truck, as I have seen many television reporters do.

Perhaps instead of being so vested in unconditional, politically correct support of a clearly failing institution, people should read this book in its entirety and consider what it eloquently puts forth. And maybe, if, as Shawn hopes, reform is undertaken in a serious enough manner, the UN will actually survive all this to one day reclaim some form of relevance in the world forum.

An important book that sounds a clarion call to action!

The UN was created 61 years ago to (supposedly) bring about world peace and cooperation...yeah, that worked. All it has become is one huge and embarrassing farce. It is a scandal-ridden, money-wasting joke that brings more misery than peace in some of the most troubled areas in the world.

For example, in Liberia, UN Peacekeepers were sent in to keep order after the U.S.-assisted ousting of a brutal and warmongering dictator. This authoritarian had instigated a devastating four-year civil war which spread into neighboring countries and killed thousands of innocents. Now these "Peacekeepers" are forcing LITTLE GIRLS to trade sex with them for basic necessities! This has recently been exposed by Save the Children, and other legitimate organizations.

First the Oil-For-Food fiasco, now Sex-For-Food? Despicable.

It's about time the U.S. pulled its funding of the U.N. (a whopping $3 billion A YEAR -- more than any other country!) and kicked them out of New York. Maybe they can set up camp in France.

The US favored Saddam Hussein's Iraq as a bulwark against revolutionary Iran after 1979 as the lesser of two nasty regimes. Jacques Chirac, however, remarked of Hussein that "it was seen as progressive." France thereby gave Iraq a lot of extra slack; including selling Hussein a nuclear reactor (later decommissioned by Israeli aircraft). The U.N., in a similar vein, gave Hussein the benefit of any doubts it may have had about his intentions. The Oil for Food program was supposedly instituted to keep the Iraqi people alive and healthy while Saddam labored under U.N. imposed sanctions. Somehow, billions of dollars went unaccounted for, though. Benon Sevan was handpicked by Kofi Annan to run the program. "The Vocker report [on the gross negligence of the program] concluded that Sevan indeed had 'solicited and received' oil allocations worth approximately 1.5 million." Yet Secretary Annan maintained that Sevan had served the U.N. "beyond the call of duty." What about the Iraqi people? Wasn't he tasked with looking out for their welfare?

Likewise, where was the U.N. when Rwandans were killed with abandon as U.N. peacekeepers (then headed by Mr. Annan) stood idly by? What about Srebrencia, where peacekeepers did likewise. What about the sex-for-food disgrace by U.N. personnel in the Congo? What about U.N. inaction over continuing genocide in Darfur? What about the Oil for Food program 2.2% administration fee, which "netted the organization a total of 1.4 billion [dollars] over the years, an unprecedented bonanza that rewarded the U.N. with larger chunks of cash the more oil they let Hussein sell." Yet for this fee the U.N.'s Sevan himself finally admitted on November 19, 2002 (as allied soldiers massed in Kuwait for the invasion to come just 4 months later) that goods were not up to standards: "Pharmaceuticals and medical supplies are delivered with short shelf life." "High protein bisquits and therapeutic milk that fail quality control; items with essential components missing or defective; equipment delivered but not assembled; vehicles, machines, and spare parts delivered in a damaged condition or with wrong technical specification; foodstuffs, that while being safe for human consumption, are of an inferior quality to that contracted." The program by then had been up and running since 1996, as Saddam built new palaces and a new Olympic sports stadium...and the Iraqi people got the shaft from Hussein, as "the U.N. kept the truth hidden." The U.N. excused away its responsibility blaming the hijacking of the program by Hussein on U.N. "management lapses." Eric Shawn asked Secretary Annan this question on TV: "What do you think are the lessons of what went wrong in the Oil for Food program, in the sense that sanctions were busted and the Iraqi regime was able to manipulate the goodwill and efforts of the international community for its own means?" "No comment," was Annan's answer. Yes, the U.N. does some good work on humanitarian levels (with a great percentage of such costs borne by the USA; a generosity that is criticized often for never being generous enough). But, on matters concerning security the "U.N. is a place defined by the preservation of the status quo." "And the status quo right now is to handcuff the world's superpower..." The international anthem is "Blame America" (when the U.N. isn't fixated on castigating Israel for everything but foul weather---the fault of the USA, for not signing up to the Kyoto treaty; a treaty which few signatories are currently abiding by). Postscript: Secretary Annan in September of 2006 finally submitted the financial disclosure form required by his own reform of U.N. openess. Unfortunatlely, he was 8 months late in doing so; and, to boot, classified its details. How a Swiss company named Cotecna (which then employed Secretary Annan's son Kojo) became a major player in the Oil for Food program remains a question. And Mr. Sevan, what happened to him? He is in retirement abroad; Kofi Annan having facilitated Sevan's impromtu return to his native Cyprus, even after Sevan failed to fully cooperate with the Vocker Commission. Moreover, Cyprus, conveniently, doesn't have an extradiction treaty with the USA even if he was pursued. End of story? End of the U.N.'s credibility, is more like it. (06Oct) Cheers

I'm not a big fan of the United Nations to begin with but I find Eric Shawn's book The U.N. Exposed to be less than impressive. The entire book revolves around the "Oil for Food" scandal. Mr. Shawn nit picks the U.N.'s administrative problems like how they hire people (it's not what you know, it's who you know) and that leads to many under qualified individuals. The "U.N. World" as he puts it, creates an aura of rich ambassadors who take advantage of New York's generosity economically and by backstabbing the United States by vetoing resolutions we favor. He goes on to mention U.N. peace keepers that have violated women, how the U.N. funds terrorism, and how they constantly ask the biggest contributor to the U.N. (United States) for more money. I would agree with all that he states but Mr. Shawn really is making a point that the U.N. should really be titled "The United States United Nations." After all, we fund 22 percent of the U.N. budget and 27 percent of the peace keeping operations and billions more in U.N. agencies yet most countries in the U.N. votes against us. The "Oil for Food" scandal can be linked to China, Russia, and France and their role in profiteering from the program. Only the United States and Great Britain (of the five permanent security counsel members) adhered to U.N. polices. Mr. Shawn demands accountability from all U.N. members yet advocates not providing America's share of the financial burden because to him, money is being wasted by a very inefficient institution. The U.N. Exposed is a great book to read about the workings of the U.N. but Mr. Shawn puts too much emphasis on how nations vote against us but isn't that why the United Nations is an independent body?

Mr. Shawn's book did a fair job capturing the UN as it is up to a point in time. Of course the book was published and its form was frozen in time. But the UN is not, it continues. And sad to say it continues much in the way Mr. Shawn discribes. If it were gone tomorrow, I wouldn't miss it. I must agree with Mr. Shawn that the organization it was meant to be, and was even for a while, is gone.

No sane person in America - whatever your political stripe - could honestly admit the U.N. is not adversarial to the interests of our nation. Still, the depth and details of this reality are expertly put forth in this book, and they are truly nauseating. The U.S. pays billions every year to provide a forum for coddled diplomats - from nations where you're tortured for simple things like one's religious beliefs - to judge and condemn America. While they pound the podium with one hand, with the other they take payoffs from the murderers for whom they can find no moral condemnation.

Why we still support and allow this body to exist is beyond me, but the reality is it's a price you have to pay when you're the world's only moral super power, and you'd like to see your enemies out in the open in a centralized location. There is no moral tenor to this body, which allows nations knee-deep in blood to rant against us. That blood includes American blood, which was spilled in a war easily avoidable had this grand body not been on Saddam's payroll. A true disgrace, matched only by the dept of gratitude we all owe the author for shining a sober and irrefutable light on this rat hole of humanity.

It is a testament to Shawn's writing that he can inform and entertain us about an institution that has fallen into such
disheartening disarray. Don't be deterred by the Fox affiliation (if you might be). This is a fact-based must-read for both sides of the political equation.

Important reading for every U.S. citizen. Shawn writes a page turner of a book which shows clearly why indeed the current problems plaguing the UN have become all our problems. A must read!!