Lest it interfere with the UN’s labors in Lebanon, Kofi Annan remains coy about the identity of the mystery “facilitator” he has appointed to help secure what was supposed to be — as spelled out in UN Resolution 1701 — the “unconditional” release of the two Israeli soldiers kidnapped July 12 by Hezbollah.

What’s Annan trying to hide? From what we know so far, the likeliest candidates for facilitation Kofi-style range from overtly hostile to Israel, to apparently incompetent, to oddly embroiled in assorted UN scandals of recent years. We also know that the UN has in recent days been facilitating away on other fronts — with UN officials congratulating themselves for Israel’s lifting of the blockade on Lebanon, and withdrawal of more troops. The UN has even facilitated the entry into the U.S. of former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, who has spent his time here shilling for the Hezbollah-sponsoring Iranian regime; this performance to be followed by a UN-facilitated visit from the current president of Iran.

Amid all this facilitating, what the UN has not yet managed to arrange is even a visit by the International Committee of the Red Cross to the kidnapped Israeli soldiers — Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev – let alone their release.