Suspend Syria

In the wake of Oil-for-Food and myriad other scandals, the UN’s reputation is pretty tarnished these days. And it hasn’t done the greatest job of cleaning itself up. But here’s an idea – why not start suspending member states that mistreat other member states? Apparently Syria has a lot to answer for in the torching of the Danish and Norwegian embassies (not to mention the assassination of Hariri, etc.). Whether the Syrians instigated the burnings, looked the other way, or something in between, the response by the United Nations to Syria’s behavior should be simple – suspension. Syria should not be allowed to participate in any way in the United Nations until their government makes drastic alterations in their totalitarian behavior.

Of course, this would be a big change of behavior for the UN, which often puts places like Libya in charge of human rights, but if the organization is even remotely serious about reform, this is a good place to start.