With word that U.N. officials were warned that rebels were raping women in remote parts of the Congo, United Nations officials should pull the plug on the bumbling peacekeeping mission there that costs billions but produces little positive results.
Less than a month ago, there were reports that U.N. peacekeepers couldn't stop a brutal attack by rebels in which nearly 200 women and small boys were raped.
Now comes word that an e-mail sent at the start of the attack said the rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) had taken over the town of Mpofi and a woman had been raped.
The e-mail adds that "humanitarian workers are said not to go there."
Even though peacekeepers were less than 30 miles away, they didn't go to the area until days later after the raping spree.
U.N. officials had said peacekeepers didn't know about the rapes until weeks later so critics want to know what the U.N. knew about the attacks and when it knew it.
Ever since the U.N. began operations in the Congo, observers have complained about corruption, sex abuse scandals and allegations that U.N. workers have collaborated with rebels.
The Congolese government has asked the U.N. to shrink the mission, but it might be wiser to think about pulling out completely.
The U.N. seems to be in way over its heads in trying to bring peace to people who use rape as a weapon and have no regard for human life.
It's no disgrace that the U.N. can't find a solution to the Congo fighting. Calling it a difficult situation is a gross understatement. Spending more than a billion dollars a year in the Congo and getting no results, though, is a waste of limited resources that can be better spent elsewhere.