From the editor.(Editorial)

The United Nations celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, looking worn and haggard to the casual observer. In its infancy, the UN was widely regarded as "mankind's last best hope for peace." These days, the organization appears inept, toothless, and scandalous; it suffers from bureaucratic paralysis; it fails to put teeth behind its own resolutions; and it is has become mired in a series of scandals--chief among them the multi-billion dollar oil-for-food rip off.

The "Reform" Gambit

To deflect attention from the scandals, to resuscitate the decrepit-looking world body, and to give it a face-lift, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has put forward a reform package for discussion by a General Assembly summit of world leaders this September. This package, called In Larger Freedom, would amount to the biggest overhaul of the UN since its founding in 1945. And how would Annan "reform" the world body? A chapter heading in his report encapsulates his vision: "Strengthening the United Nations."

It is not surprising that the secretary-general, who is personally implicated in the oil-for-food scandal, would advocate fixing the UN by strengthening it. More significant is the fact that supposed conservatives, who have voiced criticism of the UN in the past, have joined liberals in calling for "reforms" that would empower the world body.

One of those voices is President Bush, who asked the following questions in his speech to the UN General Assembly in 2002: "Are Security Council resolutions to be honored and enforced, or cast aside without consequence? Will the United Nations serve the purpose of its founding, or will it be irrelevant?" Clarifying his own position, Mr. Bush went on to explain: "The United States helped found the United Nations. We want the United Nations to be effective, and respected, and successful. We want the resolutions ...