{"id":86,"date":"2007-10-28T19:17:02","date_gmt":"2007-10-28T19:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.foto8.com\/live\/?p=86"},"modified":"2007-10-28T19:17:02","modified_gmt":"2007-10-28T19:17:02","slug":"we-did-nothing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foto8.com\/live\/we-did-nothing\/","title":{"rendered":"We Did Nothing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"text\">During the 1990s, freelance journalist Linda Polman reported from United Nations peacekeeping missions in Somalia, Haiti and Rwanda. Assigned to report on the machinations of member states, Polman recalls the memorable words of one American diplomat: \u201cUN resolutions are like hotdogs. If you know how they make \u2019em, you don\u2019t want to eat \u2019em. You just swallow. No questions asked.\u201d That response and others like it that were the inspiration for this book.<\/p>\n<p> The bloody civil war in Somalia would have long-term implications for all future UN missions. The UN found little respect for its mandate. The clans went about their business as usual, safe in the knowledge that the \u201cblue helmets\u201d would not and could not intervene. The shame of the inadequate intervention in Rwanda is also well documented here, and the mistakes that were made with devastating consequences. But Polman also recognises the UN\u2019s hidebound circumstances and evokes our understanding for its \u201cdamned if you do, damned if you don\u2019t\u201d condition. There\u2019s even some humour in her account.<\/p>\n<p> As mighty as the UN is with its fleets of gleaming white Land Rovers, and generous per diems, it is an organisation that always seems to be on the back foot, always the object of criticism and over analysis. After reading We Did Nothing, it is hard not to have some sympathy for its position. The question remains however, how can the UN have power and authority without being seen as a force of occupation? Perhaps that is for the sequel.<\/span><span class=\"titletext\"><span class=\"bold\"> <\/p>\n<p><strong> Phil Lee<\/strong><br \/> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h4><a href=\"index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=44:we-did-nothing&amp;catid=19&amp;Itemid=77\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"review_photo\" src=\"https:\/\/www.foto8.com\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/phil_book.jpg\" alt=\"We Did Nothing\" title=\"We Did Nothing\" align=\"left\" height=\"178\" hspace=\"0\" width=\"115\" \/><\/a> <span class=\"review_author\">Linda Polman<\/span><br \/><span class=\"review_additional\">Published by Penguin<br \/> Paperback<br \/>\u00a37.99 <\/span><\/p>\n<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":85,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.5 - 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