UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Foreign ministers of major powers failed to come up with a joint strategy for dealing with Iran after Tehran sought to influence the negotiations with a stunning last-minute diplomatic maneuver, officials said.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said a U.S.-hosted, three-hour meeting on Monday of ministers from Russia, Britain, China and Germany did not reach agreement.

Never mind that the letter had nothing to do with negotiations and/or diplomacy over the current controversy. This is yet again, a typical example of why the UN is so ineffective.

(Reuters) But a copy of the 18-page letter, sent on Monday, showed it focused mainly on alleged American wrongdoings and contained no ideas for ending the standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Say what you want about NATO, but the UN is absolutely worthless. It is a haven for nations that want to have an impact in world events, but never actually take action (read: France). It has become an open forum for widespread anti-Americanism, where any country that openly defies the United States, reguardless of situation, is applauded (even if secretly).

In a related story:

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Rights champions hope for a new beginning at the United Nations on Tuesday when the world body elects 47 nations to its new Human Rights Council, even if some of the worst abusers end up winning seats.

"This is a great opportunity to make a fresh start," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, cautioning, however, that U.N. members should vote carefully because the council's first members would have a heavy responsibility in setting up the way the new rights body works.

The UN will spend more time dithering over who should be on the “prom committee” rather than take action in Darfur, Iran, China, Iraq, etc…

This explains why liberals love the UN so much. You get to voice all the wonderful intentions you have without ever being forced to take action… after all, you need “consensus” to take action, and when asking over 50 nations what to do… you’ll NEVER get a consensus.