>The U.S. was kicked off the UN committees on Human Rights and
>anti-drugs coordination and Annan didn't prevent it.
Not to dispute your point that the UN can act as a brake on US imperialism, but the American press has been in a tizzy all year because Sudan and Pakistan got seats on the Human Rights Commission and the United States did not.
Elections to the HRC are done by region, so the United States ran for one of three seats for Western Europe and the rest of the world. France (52 votes), Austria (41 votes), and Sweden (32 votes) defeated the USA (29 votes). France and the USA were running for re-election, and the other seat was open. What Sudan, Pakistan, or Moldova were doing was immaterial.
It may well be that Annan encouraged the voters on the Economic and Social Council to vote for Austria and Sweden at the expense of the USA. But the Americans missed their chance to ensure a seat by making sure that only three countries ran for their seats (that's how Sudan made it on the commission, after all).
Tim Francis-Wright Interfere? Why of course we should interfere! Always do what you're best at, that's what I say. [The Doctor, Nightmare of Eden]