Foreign policy was a side issue in Tuesday’s election. But with crises in the making, from Venezuela to Iran, and points between and beyond, the wider world will be muscling its way into the spotlight soon enough. Let’s hope the new Congress, whatever its configuration, will take a serious interest in at least trying to resume some oversight of how American tax dollars get spent at that international colosseum known as the United Nations. The issue is not solely the billions of dollars Washington pours annually into the UN — providing roughly one-quarter of a system-wide UN budget that now comes to well over $20 billion. The problem is also that along with the usual waste and fraud, the UN spends some of those American billions on activities hostile to U.S. values and interests.
Just this past week, as I noted in a post last weekend on the UN’s Tiananmen Travesty, the Chinese head of the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Sha Zukang, presented an award to a Chinese former defense minister, Chi Haotian, who was operational commander of the troops who crushed the 1989 Tiananmen democratic uprising. Sha — UN credentials and all — delivered this award on behalf of the World Harmony Foundation, an outfit intriguingly listed by the UN itself in its accredited NGO database as having no available address or home country. Presumably that’s just UN sloppiness, given that the World Harmony Foundation on its own web site lists addresses in both Manhattan and Zhejiang, China.
Now comes word that the UN is now planning a Durban III conference for next September in New York City. Anne Bayefsky has the details at the Weekly Standard. This Durban III would follow the UN’s Durban Review Conference held in 2009 in Geneva (with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as one of the main speakers), which followed the UN’s anti-Semitic Durban Conference of 2001 (which got so bad that then-Secretary of State Colin Powell ordered the U.S. delegation to walk out).
In related news, lunatics in Massachusetts succeeded in putting this on the ballot: ”Shall the state representative from this district be instructed to vote to amend the state constitution to allow Massachusetts voters, through a law enacted by initiative petition, to vote to delegate their powers concerning international affairs to a democratically elected legislative body of a global federal union of democratic nations?”
Isn’t there legislation bottled up in the House, or Senate, that would end the membership of the US in the UN?
Frankly, I would say the better option is for the UK to pull out, revamp the Commonwealth, and this revamped Commonwealth will help set up other pro-democracy amalgams. Why? Because this is a better option than the UN to act as a guarantor of world peace. Take a look at “Paris 1919″ by Margaret MacMillan. An offer was made to David Lloyd-George by the Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden, at the end of the First world war, for the British Empire to be the guarantor of the world peace, just in case the League of Nations didn’t work out.
The UN, for the past 40 years or so, has been little more than a forum for anti-American jealous hate-spew from many 3rd world tinpot regimes. Most of these tinpots don’t have much staying power, Iran’s Ahmadinejad is just the most current and most vocal. He too will pass.
The problem as I, and I think many other Americans view it; is one of value for dollar. Hardly any American objects when massive relief supplies are sent to natural disasters, tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, etc., the question comes to my mind that if we have to fund those relief efforts anyway,,, what is the value of the UN? Clearly the UN is impotent to bring real relief to a problem, or to stop the occasional genocidal tear the various African tribes stir up regularly, or the non-stop radical Islam hate machines operating openly in the middle east. It’s a lost cause to think these idiots will ever learn to live in peaceful harmony, moreover, and it is a waste of our tax dollars to continue wishful pursuit of things that will never happen.
I’m just thinking, the UN has become a luxury we cannot afford, and since it offers very little value for the dollar, we ought to consider cutting our losses on this issue.
There is much talk today about “defunding” Obamacare. We should also have a serious discussion about defunding our participation in the United Nations. For too many years now the United Nations has been a club for terrorist dictators and Islamic madmen and it needs to be stopped. The UN is a tragic holdover from the Cold War (not that it even did that much during the Cold War) and no longer serves any useful purpose. All of its charitable or foreign aid functions can be done more efficiently and for a lot less money through private organizations, like the Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders. And as a “Peacekeeping” organization, the UN is an utter failure.
The time to end the UN is now. But, does Congress have the nerve to do it? I doubt it, but one can always hope.
Insufficient suggeston. Cut off all U.S. financial support. Cut of all utilities. Demand physcal relocaton of UN headquarters elsewhere; Tripoli, Tehran, Damascus, who cares? Raze the current edifice and put up twin towers. Announce to our enemies, no more Mr. nice guy. Let our friends know they can count on us. Redirect U.S. foreign aid to refurbish our infrastructure and update our nukes. Send this message; we are happy to talk things over, compromise, and be reasonable. But not when dealing with the survival of friendly democracies, and basic human rights. If that is not acceptable, TS: find another teat to suck on.
Excellent ideas all. The United Nations enjoys our largess and enjoys the fancy digs on American soil while constantly badmouthing us. I don’t think this organization has any worthwhile contribution to anything- rape and stealing money do not count. Therefore, this anti-American bunch of bureaucrats needs to be relocated to another spot on earth, perhaps they could try Tehran or Mexico City or some other place. They certainly should not be given any more American money.
I think the UN should be set up on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean just like all of its policies.
My grandfather was the superintendent of the apartment complex that was torn down to make way for the UN building. I say we turn it into low-income housing.
The new Congress should reduce our contributions to the UN and the IMF to one dollar each. Let them moan and wail. Let them understand that without US support they are even less than the useless pest-hole that they have become. In the future load any cash with exacting conditions as to use. What was that line from Star Wars….”no greater hive of thieves and villany..” he was talking about Turtle Bay, wasn’t he?
2. David W. Lincoln;
Perhaps not the entire Old Empire but there are about a dozen nations on the planet that we should “do business” with regards to keeping the peace. Most are Commonwealth nations, there are a few others that “get it” as far as the whole freedom thing goes. The unworthy balance are just unreliable criminal enterprises masquerading as nations.
I submit that the bottom dwellers, or bottom feeders, of the old Empire can be turned into parts of continental preparatory regimes, so that their futures can be better than their present.
I agree, it’s high time we collectitvely along with a few other Countries use civil means by making powerful moves fmor within that are bold yet direct so there’s no mistake about what our intentions are to turn things around inside the UN. It’s been a real circus at the UN for how long now, and there’s not a day, month or year where the USA isn’t used & abused by rogue Nation that quite frankly say to the entire world they wish for us along with Israel to be removed from the face of this earth !!!
How can anyone, no matter your politics wish for this to happen and stand by while turing a blind eye to what is or has been happening, especially for our Members of congress do not show any type of reaction to these statements being made by Iran, North Korea and many others who feel the sameway but they sure don’t have any problems spending our money for there own gains or to use forcefully against us.
We need to ask for our money back. Then close the doors.
From your keyboard to God’s eye, Ms. Rosett. The UN has become nothing but a liability. I have no doubt that if the US pulled out of the UN, so would most of the other democracies, and that would be the end of that. Then maybe it would be possible to form a new union of actual democracies that uphold the values of Western civilization, not the so-called “human rights” of despots.
Past time for a ‘no knock’ raid on that den of drug dealers, rape enablers and thieves.
Oversight, hell. EVICTION.
Move the UN to Europe. It’s a parliament of whores.
As a Canadian, I concur. We are being taken to the cleaners by UN ponzi schemes to extract more money and more power to give to Third World dictators. I can also add – stop funding NGO’s that are affiliated with the UN. Do you know how much money gets given to these organization who then use it as a rod to break our backs? Human rights groups, climate change groups, water security groups, anti-poverty groups and the newest kid on the block – biodiversity. Every single thing in the world is being categorized as a “human right” and open to UN surveillance.
Value? Have you ever looked at the UN’s website and seen all the plans they have for us as if they were our gov’t?
DANGEROUS.
Get the hell out of the UN is what I say.
In honor of today being Nov. 5, my opinion of the UN is:
Where’s Guy Fawkes when we really need him?
The biggest aid is given by western countries, even to Islamic entities. There is no real giving by the wealthy oil countries (ex. Saudi Arabia) even to the Palestinians, who they prefer to keep in camps as pressure towards Israel. The worst human rights violators in the world judge other, more civilized countries. TIME TO FORM ANOTHER WORLD ORGANIZATION! Exclude the abusive, non-contributing nations who dominate now.
Does Obama have the balls to say “no durban 3 on US soil”?