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UN peacekeepers refused to help aid workers attacked and raped by South Sudanese troops, victims say

lukin2006lukin2006 Posts: 9,087
in A Moving Train
UN peacekeepers refused to help aid workers attacked and raped by South Sudanese troops, victims say

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/un-peacekeepers-refused-to-help-aid-workers-attacked-and-raped-by-south-sudanese-troops-victims-say
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Comments

  • PJ_SoulPJ_Soul Posts: 49,951
    edited August 2016
    That is all horrible. I can't really think of anything else to say about it. Reminds me of Hotel Rwanda. Who knows what the situation was or is with the UN peacekeepers in the area. I would like to know more from that side of the story and learn who or what is preventing them from doing more. Why were they all refusing to go?? Is it a good reason or a bad reason? Perhaps they are not at all equipped to handle such things (in which case it would mean they are entirely useless... why is that? Funding? Horrible leadership? Corruption? What???).
    Post edited by PJ_Soul on
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • DegeneratefkDegeneratefk Posts: 3,123
    Can anyone explain why the UN is relevant today?
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  • PJ_SoulPJ_Soul Posts: 49,951
    Degeneratefk said:

    Can anyone explain why the UN is relevant today?

    Not unless the questions I just asked about it are answered. I'm not going to just decide that the UN is irrelevant from this story. There is a lot of research and lot of information that needs to be offered by the UN before anyone can explain, IMO. But I'd start with finding more instances like this one as they relate to UN peacekeepers, and also finding instances where the UN peacekeepers DID help. I don't like throwing the baby out with the bath water.
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • lukin2006lukin2006 Posts: 9,087
    Degeneratefk said:

    Can anyone explain why the UN is relevant today?

    You mean an unelected bureaucracy is not useful? The same organization that put Saudi Arabi on their human commission, not useful? You can't really mean the united nations, can you?
    I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin

    "Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
  • PJ_SoulPJ_Soul Posts: 49,951
    lukin2006 said:

    Degeneratefk said:

    Can anyone explain why the UN is relevant today?

    You mean an unelected bureaucracy is not useful? The same organization that put Saudi Arabi on their human commission, not useful? You can't really mean the united nations, can you?
    There are a plenty of useful unelected bureaucracies. That the UN is unelected really doesn't speak to its usefulness or lack thereof. First, one has to figure out at what level a failure such as this one is originating. Up at the top? Somewhere in the middle? Is it a funding problem? Logistical? Political? Managerial? FWIW, UN Peacekeepers are ideally VERY useful, and have been useful. But something's wrong. Just tossing the UN seems like a pretty extreme reaction. Fixing the UN seems a better option.
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • lukin2006lukin2006 Posts: 9,087
    The Canadian Senate is a wonderful unelected bureaucracy...
    I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin

    "Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
  • unsungunsung Posts: 9,487
    If UN "Peacekeepers" were ever on US soil in an active military role they would probably be considered the enemy.
  • lukin2006lukin2006 Posts: 9,087
    Matt Gurney: Don’t send Canadian troops to dysfunctional UN missions

    http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/matt-gurney-dont-send-canadian-troops-to-dysfunctional-un-missions
    I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin

    "Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
  • rgambsrgambs Posts: 13,576
    unsung said:

    If UN "Peacekeepers" were ever on US soil in an active military role they would probably be considered the enemy.

    To the gun-toting, tinfoil helmet crowd they already are!
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  • PJ_SoulPJ_Soul Posts: 49,951
    lukin2006 said:

    The Canadian Senate is a wonderful unelected bureaucracy...

    Well that isn't generally one of the useful ones.
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • unsungunsung Posts: 9,487
    rgambs said:

    unsung said:

    If UN "Peacekeepers" were ever on US soil in an active military role they would probably be considered the enemy.

    To the gun-toting, tinfoil helmet crowd they already are!
    Based on stories like this it's not hard to see why.
  • PJ_SoulPJ_Soul Posts: 49,951
    unsung said:

    rgambs said:

    unsung said:

    If UN "Peacekeepers" were ever on US soil in an active military role they would probably be considered the enemy.

    To the gun-toting, tinfoil helmet crowd they already are!
    Based on stories like this it's not hard to see why.
    But you're talking about the actual peacekeepers, not the UN. Unless you have a reason to blame the peacekeepers on the ground in this story, then I don't see why. Again, more info on what happened is needed before any of us can really judge in this case, or know who to blame.
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • mickeyratmickeyrat Posts: 38,592
    edited August 2016
    unsung said:

    If UN "Peacekeepers" were ever on US soil in an active military role they would probably be considered the enemy.

    your statement suggests a peacekeeper mission is an active military role. reality is its not. armed observers is all they really are.
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  • unsungunsung Posts: 9,487
    Well that does a lot of good.
  • PJ_SoulPJ_Soul Posts: 49,951
    edited August 2016
    unsung said:

    Well that does a lot of good.

    It has been known to do a lot of good. They are armed observers, but they have stepped in when needed plenty of times, they have protected a lot of people, and they have served as deterrents. It has also been known to have mixed results. And in this case, they did nothing (we still don't know why).
    Post edited by PJ_Soul on
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • unsungunsung Posts: 9,487
    Probably something to do with rules of engagement...

    Peacekeeping, by viewing. Apparently not much of a deterrent in all parts.
  • Thirty Bills UnpaidThirty Bills Unpaid Posts: 16,881
    unsung said:

    Probably something to do with rules of engagement...

    Peacekeeping, by viewing. Apparently not much of a deterrent in all parts.

    Learned nothing from failed UN missions where the forces placed there were rendered useless (Rwanda being one of the most glaring for me).
    "My brain's a good brain!"
  • PJ_SoulPJ_Soul Posts: 49,951
    Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

    unsung said:

    Probably something to do with rules of engagement...

    Peacekeeping, by viewing. Apparently not much of a deterrent in all parts.

    Learned nothing from failed UN missions where the forces placed there were rendered useless (Rwanda being one of the most glaring for me).
    Rwanda suggested that peacekeepers could be very valuable but are handcuffed by bureaucracy and politics. I think the UN (or something like it) is necessary, but it has to be "fixed" for sure if it is to be something that we might rely on in times of extreme conflict.
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • unsungunsung Posts: 9,487
    I believe a Constitutional function of the general government would be diplomatic missions in other countries and charitable humanitarian efforts could be seen as part of that. Nation building is not. US troops acting as peacekeepers is not.

    As for the UN I want the US out of it, mostly because UN is dictating policy here and because it interferes with the sovereignty of the nation. It has become another bloated bureaucracy that has exceeded its authority.
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