You Can Trust the UN - Really

Heard the one about the British night vision goggles sold to the UN that ended up in Hezbollah hands?

The night-vision equipment was sent to Iran in the fight against international drug smuggling before reportedly being used by the Shia militia group in southern Lebanon.

A source at the department said that the discovery, made by Israeli troops searching guerrilla hideouts, of apparently British-made kit was "worrying".

and

The batch received a special export licence because it was intended to be used by Iranian police trying to stem the flow of heroin and opium from Afghanistan into Iran.

The Foreign Office source said there was "nothing to suggest" that it was this equipment that had found its way to Lebanon but that it would take a few days for the investigation to be carried out.

The Iranians are prime sponsors of Hizbullah and are believed to supply much of the weaponry used against Israel during the bloody 34-day conflict.

When the night vision equipment was authorised for export, Patrick O'Brien, then a junior minister in the Foreign Office, told the Commons that it was intended for use on the Iranian border with Afghanistan to combat heroin smugglers.

The equipment was sanctioned and funded by the UN Drugs Control Programme (UNDCP).

I've been waiting to hear any more about verification of that these did indeed come from the UN program, but the news has been very quiet.

I'm sure there's nothing to this. Nothing at all. Nope.