Hti: Uh-oh! Here comes the U.N.

Bringing considerable experience in peace-keeping and a sterlling track-record for protecting the weak against genocidal aggression, the U.N. will do for Haiti what has never been done before.

UNITED NATIONS_The Security Council authorized a wide-ranging U.N. mission in Haiti Friday with more than 8,000 troops and police, as well as political and human rights experts to help stabilize the troubled Caribbean nation.

The U.N. mission will start on June 1 for an initial period of six months, but the council said it intends to renew the mandate, a signal of its agreement with Secretary-General Kofi Annan that a long-term U.N. commitment is essential to turn Haiti into a functioning democracy.

The U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti _ to be known as MINUSTAH _ is the latest in a string of international plans to help Haiti. Despite those efforts, the country remains unstable, undeveloped and the Western Hemisphere’s poorest.

Ten international missions to Haiti have failed in the last decade because of a lack of sustained commitment, the U.N. special envoy to Haiti, Reginald Dumas, said in March.

Heaven help the Haitians.