It seems the esteemed U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is a little bummed out these days:

Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general, is said to be struggling with depression and considering his future. Colleagues have reported concerns about Annan ahead of an official report this week that will examine his son Kojo’s connection to the controversial Iraqi oil for food scheme.

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One close observer at the U.N. said Annan’s moods were like a “sine curve” and that he appeared near the bottom of the trough.

Kofi’s depression comes with good reason, and it isn’t just the Oil for Food scandal. The Washington Post reports:

The United Nations is investigating 150 instances in which 50 peacekeeping troops or civilians in the Congo mission are suspected of having sexually abused or exploited women and girls, some as young as 12.

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Similar charges have been made about U.N. missions in Sierra Leone and Liberia, as well as Kosovo and Bosnia in Europe.

The United Nations is also investigating reports of rape or sexual assault in Congo, including one case in which a French logistics employee was found with hundreds of videotapes that showed him torturing and sexually abusing naked girls. Last week, U.N. officials announced they had fired one employee and suspended six others from among 17 civilian staff members being investigated in the Congo abuses.

Will these scandals ever reach the saturation coverage of Abu Ghraib? Probably not. As far as the establishment media is concerned, what matters isn’t the severity of the crime, but who perpetrates it.