At the UN: a 'leaks, rust, and cracks' tour

Some staffers on the visit say congressional ire over Iraq is directed more at individual countries - at Security Council members that opposed the war - than at the UN itself.

But even some of those who say they see less overall opposition to the UN note a new wrinkle in opinion: a tendency to differentiate between the "soft" humanitarian issues where many the UN is useful, and the "hard" security issues where some in Congress have given up on the UN. "There are those members who think the UN is only good for the touchy-feely stuff," says Jennifer Simon, a staffer with Sen. Joseph Biden on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

That kind of differentiation is not news to UN officials. "I think most members of Congress recognize and value the UN's humanitarian work," says Gillian Sorensen, the UN's assistant secretary-general for external relations. "What they don't always understand as well is how the UN can enhance what the US does, the sharing of the risks, responsibilities, and burdens" of international work.

A desire to "share the burden" in Iraq's reconstruction is already softening some of the recent rancor towards the UN, some staffers say.

Catherine Bertini, the UN's undersecretary for the Department of Management, was with Annan in Washington, and saw the "openness and obvious respect" between the UN head and President Bush, as well as Annan's good reception among congressional leaders. Others at the UN say it doesn't hurt with the current administration and Congress that Ms. Bertini is both a high-ranking UN official and a staunch Republican.

The nadir of relations occurred over the last decade, when the US was in arrears in its UN dues and "Get the US OUT of the UN" bumperstickers were more prevalent.

UN officials say the conversion that former Sen. Jesse Helms - the North Carolina conservative Republican and former powerhouse on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee - underwent on the UN is emblematic of the "awakening" of many members of Congress who have little knowledge of the world body.

For years, Senator Helms blocked efforts to pay US dues. But then-US ambassador to the UN, Richard Holbrooke, arranged for Helms and his family to visit the UN, and Helms ended up inviting Annan to North Carolina.

"It broke a wall that had been there," says Ms. Sorensen. And Helms played a key role in having the back dues paid.

It's that wall between Congress and the UN that is gradually eroded with other examples of "personal diplomacy."

And then, there's the matter of the UN headquarters' physical state. "The building's a wreck," Bertini says, adding that the best sign of real understanding between the two institutions would be quick help by the US to provide the UN with a modern home where it can work.

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