Dire Warning

The UN always gives me a good laugh. Here comes another one via Reuters. Boldface mine:

The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday authorized countries fighting piracy off the Somali coast to take action also on Somalia's territory and in its airspace, subject to consent by the country's government.

I love these guys. Love. These. Guys. They're the funniest clowns on the planet.

More from the same story, as poor old Condi Rice forgets that the UN is full of wimps and nitwits:

Rice told the council Washington would set up a contact group to promote anti-piracy efforts, including through sharing intelligence.

But, like other speakers, she said the piracy crisis was inseparable from the turmoil in Somalia. The United States "does believe that the time has come for the United Nations to consider and authorize a peacekeeping operation," she said.

"We believe that by the end of the year we should try and have such a Security Council resolution," Rice told reporters later. African countries favor such a force and South African envoy Dumisani Kumalo said, "It's what we've always wanted."

But U.N. officials fear a blue-helmet force would fail unless the situation in Somalia calms down.

Same old story. Put your money on the pirates until the US does something - gasp - unilaterally.