Impotence Defined

Hearing Nick Nolte's Colonel Oliver declare to the news cameras that, "We're here as peace-keepers, not peace-makers."

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people get slaughtered. Rwanda was not a high-point for the United Nations. The good Colonel's political considerations keep him from the obvious choice even as a truckload of civilians under UN sanction comes under attack by Hutu thugs. The best he can do is fire a pistol shot into the ground in warning.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands are slaughtered while western nations take steps only to evacuate their own nationals and the UN parades around, seemingly the only people in the entire country impressed with it's dedication to peace and security, unable even to avenge the wanton killing of members of the peace-keeping force.

The west is and ought to be ashamed by it's response to the genocide in Rwanda, but there is special blame for the UN in it's impotence; it was there, it saw what was going on and made no effort to stop it when it would have mattered.