Steyn alert

Yes, I know. Mark Steyn's article is about the tsunami aide waiting for the corrupt bureaucracy in Indonesia to clear it so it can get to Aceh...but the comments can be applied to how the international community pretends Mugabe really won the election.

And, alas, it is about how NGO's, who really try, are frequently prevented from getting aid to really needy people due to the corruption of political leaders in all too many countries...

The part of the tsunami aid operation that worked was the first few days, when America, Australia and a handful of other nations improvised instant and effective emergency relief operations that did things like, you know, save lives, rescue people, restore water supply, etc. Then the poseurs of the transnational bureaucracy took over, held press conferences demanding that stingy Westerners needed to give more and more and more, and the usual incompetence and corruption followed....
even when the entire planet is on the same side, the 24/7 lavishly funded U.N. humanitarian infrastructure can't get its act together....
When rent-a-quote senators claim to be pro-U.N. .....-- that when something bad happens the United States should commit to working through the approved transnational bureaucracies and throw even more "resources" at them, even though nothing will happen (Sri Lanka), millions will be stolen (Oil for Food), children will get raped (U.N. peacekeeping operations) and hundreds of thousands will die (Sudan).

Or, of course, it will be given to the cronies of the dictator, so that they can stash it in their Swiss bank accounts...