The UN Special Envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, said this week he was disappointed that his latest visit to Burma yielded no tangible results in a briefing before the 15-member UN Security Council in New York.

Gambari's visit was his third to Burma since the military government crushed pro-democracy demonstrators in September 2007 in a crackdown that sparked worldwide outrage and a new, major international diplomatic push for political reform.

But instead of making some progress in convincing the military junta to implement democratic reforms, the junta rebuffed all the UN proposals brought by Gambari.

The junta's spokesman, Kyaw Hsan, told Gambari his request to establishment an office in Rangoon for the UN special envoy was unnecessary. Pleas for "inclusive" participation in Burmese politics, which Ganbari and the UN have repeatedly called for, were also dismissed.

Kyaw Hsan said the Burmese draft constitution has been completed and the National Convention, which created the document, is the most credible and all-inclusive political discussion forum for the country.

During his visit to Burma from March 6-10, Gambari met detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi twice. But the details of their discussions are still not known. And he was not allowed to meet opposition groups, such as the "88 Generation Students," representatives of ethnic groups or top members of the junta.

Assessing the obstacles in dealing with the wily Burmese generals, Gambari said: "Indeed, over time, my engagement with my interlocutors has been difficult, complex, frustrating," but, looking on the positive side, he said there has been some slight progress, "nevertheless incremental and continuing."

Many observers can only wonder how Gambari can take such a view without any tangible accomplishments after three missions to Burma?  He’s clearly arrived at a stalemate where he’s proven the UN’s Burma strategy has failed.

Without a well-defined and convincing Plan B, Gambari should resign from his office, if only to maintain his reputation.

His resignation, if nothing else, might provide some encouragement to segments of the Burmese public who believe the UN is still the best hope to end the brutal rule of the generals.

Many observers have long maintained that with the diplomatic backing of Burma’s allies, China and Russia, the generals can manipulate envoys like Gambari and the good offices of the UN for decades.

Who knows? Gambari's resignation might embarrass some UN members and serve as a catalyst to come up a new, concrete strategy that goes beyond the toothless, paper tiger diplomacy the UN has offered for the past decade.