The powerlessness of the U.N. to prevent violence around the world was vividly demonstrated recently in the Middle Eastern nation of Syria.

According to an article in Monday's Times Free Press, the secretary-general of the U.N. called on the regime in Syria to halt its brutal attacks on protesters.

"Today, I say again to President Assad of Syria: Stop the violence. Stop killing your people," Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon pleaded.

But just two days later, we read this headline atop another article: "Activists report new wave of killings in Syria conflict." Dozens of people around the country were killed, apparently by Syrian government forces -- on top of an estimated 5,000 deaths over the past 10 months.

And not only that, but there are strong indications that terrorism-sponsoring Iran is now supplying weaponry to Syria to continue the crackdown on protesters.

What these events strongly illustrate is the inability of the well-funded U.N. to stem violence by oppressive and even terrorist regimes. It is unclear why the United States or any other nation continues to put faith in U.N. diplomacy.