From today's WSJ editorial on the Volcker Comittee Report...

Oil for Food offered a lifeline of cash and influence to a regime that was starving its people. The program did not corrupt the U.N. so much as exploit its essential nature. Now Mr. Annan wants to use this report as an endorsement of his “reform” proposals. Only at the U.N. could he dare to think he could get away with this.

“Exploit its essential nature” is an amazingly strong condemnation if you think about it, but alas accurate. Real reform at the U. N. would have to be sweeping and would have to be conducted by people in whose integrity we would have confidence.

Meanwhile, Claudia has the internal U. N. CYA letter of “talking points” from Annan’s under-secretary general for communications, Shashi Tharoor. She makes her own thoughtful additions.