Being disconnected from the Internet, my news gathering was limited to television and an actual paper edition of USAToday. I was reading on the plane ride home when I found this little gem in this article on Iraq:

In contrast to Afghanistan's October elections, for which the U.N. deployed 266 election workers, there are only 10 U.N. staffers now in Iraq, a number expected to increase to 25 in December. U.N. officials say they don't need as many personnel in Iraq because Iraqis are more sophisticated than Afghans.

"Our role is similar to yeast," Kiernan Prendergast, U.N. undersecretary general for political affairs, said at the U.N. briefing earlier this month. "The dough can't rise without the yeast, but you actually don't need very much of it."

But U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has also made clear that the lack of security is the biggest constraint on deploying U.N. staff. While fighting continues in Afghanistan, the level of violence there is much lower than it is in Iraq. The world body has had a minimal presence in Iraq since last year, following the death of 22 U.N. personnel in a suicide bombing.

Two points:

First, I was surprised at the comparison between Iraqi and Afghani people. The situations in each country are different but the difference is more as a result of history than the sophistication of the people. People are only going to be as sophisticated as the environment around them allows. To me, the statement seemed callous; almost a racial judgement/comparison. (It also ignores the real reason why the UN is not involved in Iraq: they are cowards.)

Second, I was also surprised (and greatly amused) at the analogy of the UN's role as that of yeast.

Yeast is a fungus, a member of the plant family. Yeast exists on plants, in the air, in soil, and in and on humans and animals.

Yeast metabolize simple sugars and produce alcohol and carbon dioxide through the process of fermentation. Different strains of yeast are used for different processes, such as brewing and dough-rising.

I agree with this whole concept. Yes, yeast does have benefits when small quantities are added to aid in brewing and breadmaking. However, once inside the body, yeast acts as a parasite. It is normally kept in check by bacteria within the digestive tract but can cause serious health issues if it manages to take over the digestive system.

I think the reason Kofi and company hate the War on Terror because it is a very potent fungicide.