The UN was not originally considered for overseeing the reconstruction of Kosovo after its force performed badly in Bosnia, failing to prevent the massacre at Srebrenica. The European security body, the OSCE, would probably have been given the mission had the Serbs agreed to a peace plan tabled at Rambouillet in France in February, but the UN was called in after the Russians intervened. Five months on, the UN mission is a laughing stock. Even by the standards of other missions this one is going nowhere. These salaries not only raise the jealousy of locals but also of aid workers and NATO soldiers.
Insiders say they also act as a magnet for sub-standard officials.
Then the UN turned up and started organising right over our heads. The Albanians hate them. The unwieldy decision-making process in New York is also blamed. Perhaps the most damning indictment comes from the ethnic Albanians themselves. In June they welcomed the UN and NATO as liberators.