Diplomacy at its finest?

From Yahoo News comes this account of diplomats in action.

United Nations special envoy Kofi Annan arrived on Monday in Damascus to meet with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad on the heels of a weekend massacre that left more than 100 people--including what appeared to be "rows of bloody children"--dead.

On Sunday, the U.N. Security Council condemned the killings "in the strongest possible terms" and called for an independent investigation.

"I have come to Syria at a critical moment in this crisis," Annan said in a statement upon his arrival. "I am personally shocked and horrified by the tragic incident in Houla two days ago, which took so many innocent lives, children, women and men. This was an appalling crime, and the [U.N.] Security Council has rightly condemned it."

Ooooohh.....strongest possible terms. Hiroshima was strongest possible terms. Normandy was strongest possible terms. But for the UN, it means "we won't invite you to be on the Human Rights Council, alongside such darlings as China, Cuba, Jordan, Libya, Russia and Saudi Arabia". Or we won't invite you to our next embassy reception.

I just love how Kofi says:

"I intend to have serious and frank discussions with President Bashar Al-Assad."

Nice deal you have there.  You oversaw the completely corrupt "oil for food" program, yet you are still feeding at the UN trough.  And accomplishing nothing.

Al Capone once said "You can go further with a kind word and a gun, than with a kind word alone." One well-placed Tomahawk cruise missile could solve this issue.  Sure there would be some collateral damage.  But it would accomplish far more than all the talking that Annan and the UN will do over the next several months.