I'm not forgetting UNscam, even though in the world of nicey-nicey diplomacy that we left behind firstly with Sept 11 but subsequently with the UN ructions over the Iraq invasion, it would be nice to be nice and allow the nice Mr Annan to retain his saintly status.

I'm sure some politicians in the UK and the US feel the same way too, but I think it is very likely what we have uncovered is that France and Russia were conniving with the Iraqi end of the axis of evil, and if you're serious about the axis, which I am sure Bush is, you have to be interested in UNscam, however reluctantly. In that sense interest in UNscam separates the sheep from the goats. As Kerry Buttram noted in his scan of what the BBC aren't interested in, UNscam is an story (like the entire WoT as conceived by Bush) that the BBC are not interested in, which more or less proves the point.

Friends of Saddam today updated their reports on Ambassador Bremer's hindrance of the investigations into Unscam. With Lakhdar Brahimi firmly ensconced in the process of developing the transition to an Iraqi government there are good reasons why Bremer might not want to undermine the UN's involvement in Iraq. Equally, former ambassador to the UN Negroponte (and upcoming man-on-the-ground in Iraq) might not like to see his options narrowed by a damaging investigation into the UN's involvement with the old regime, especially when it seems that parts of the old regime must go unscrutinised in order to bring Iraq some peace.

What with that, and the media's obsession with Bush-the-liar-and-torturer, and the UN's own stonewalling, and powerful enemies on the UN security council (France and Russia), it reminds me that this is a scandal with no friends. No friends, but plenty of people whose interest demands they recognise the seriousness of UNscam. No friends, but a burning sense of injustice that may yet roast the UNscammers in the way that Richard Armitage had in mind when he exploded with the words 'if someone is found guilty they ought to hang'.