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In New York this week, addressing the UN General Assembly, David Cameron said of Syria: “The blood of these young children is a terrible stain on the reputation of the United Nations.” This is too glib. The reputation that is being damaged is not that of the UN, but of the five permanent members of the Security Council: China, France, the US, Britain and Russia. They are the core of the realpolitik that has meant that the UN did not go the way of the League of Nations, even during the strains of the Cold War. It is the responsibility of these nations to forge realistic compromises and take account of their differing interests.