5 November 2000
REMEMBER U.N. DAY
Ronald J. Glossop
I. Introduction: October 24, not quite 2 weeks ago, was United Nations
Day, a special day that was generally forgotten and ignored in this country
even though the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution in December, 1971
urging all of the countries of the world to set that day aside for
remembering the creation of the United Nations. (The October 24 date for
U.N. Day was determined by the General Assembly in 1947.)
Next month on December 7 we will be reminded to "Remember Pearl
Harbor," and that anniversary will no doubt be more widely noted, even
though there has been no formal action to set aside that day for such
attention.
Remembering these events from the past is, of course, more than
looking back to the beginning and end of World War II for our country. The
remembering is to be a basis for our actions and policies in the present.
Different national policies are being advocated.
II. The message of "Remember Pearl Harbor."
A. The obvious aspect: Be ready for war. Don't trust any other
countries. Build up our military forces, especially in superior technology
and technological skill.
1. Our military power is now enormous--one-third of all military
spending in the world and more spending than the next 7 countries combined.
2. European allies are now concerned about the U.S.'s overwhelming
lead in military technology, both nuclear weapons and "conventional
weapons" like precision-guided missiles, the national missile defense
system, tiny insect-like robotic information-gathering devices, and
unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV).
3. The U.S. no-risk war strategy; don't lose U.S. personnel
("Remember Vietnam.")
B. The less-publicized aspect: Don't be isolationist and suppose that
we are alone in the world. Don't ignore what is happening in other
countries and what the world looks like to them.
1. CIA is involved over the world keeping track of what is happening
everywhere.
2. Military intelligence is more important than diplomatic intelligence.
III. The message of "Remember U.N. Day."
A. The obvious message: We are part of a larger world and the leaders
of the various nations need to be able to work together.
B. The neglected aspect: The smaller, poorer countries of the world
need a place where they can be included in rather than excluded from the
discussion of international affairs and global problems.
IV. The coming U.S. election and the United Nations.
A. The U.N. doesn't even get mentioned (as well as other foreign policy
issues, except the need to spend more on the military).
B. A central issue for the U.S. to decide: What will be the role of the
U.S. in the world vs. the role of the U.N. in the world?
1. The Middle East dispute & the role of the U.S. vs. the role of the U.N.
a. Is the U.S. a neutral third party?
b. Is the U.N. a neutral third party? It has been consistent
since 1947.
2. The U.S. is ready to use other international organizations--NATO,
OSCE, OAS, WTO, IMF--as well as the U.N.
3. The negative U.S. attitude toward the International Criminal Court (ICC)
a. Will the U.S. allow its citizens to be subordinate to an
international tribunal?
b. Will the international order be changed so that there is a
better way of dealing with people like Saddam Hussein and Slobodan
Milosevic?
4. U.S. opposes various international treaties: landmines, nuclear
testing, Law of the Sea, rights of women, rights of children.
V. The history of U.S. relations with the League of Nations and the U.N.
Nations
A. W. Wilson & the League of Nations; reaction of Lodge Republicans in
U.S. Senate
B. F. Roosevelt and the U.N. and Senator Vandenburgh & Republicans
C. U.N. and the Cold War (Turkey, Greece, Korea) but of no avail in China
D. The 1971 vote on representatives of China at the U.N. (role of
Vietnam policy)
E. The 1991 Gulf War ("New World Order") and the end of the Soviet Union
F. 18 U.S. peacekeeping personnel killed in October, 1993 in Somalia;
all U.S. forces withdrawn by March 1994.
G. April 1994 massacre in Rwanda due to failure to support U.N. peacekeeping.
H. Removal of Boutros Boutros-Ghali at end of 1996.
I. Air action by NATO (with no U.N. support) in March 1999 against
Serbia because of incidents in Kosovo; Serb forces leave Kosovo in June
1999.
J. conditions of Helms-Biden agreement of Dec 1999: no more U.N. global
confer-ences, no independent U.N. standing army, no independent
fund-raising, no U.S. funds to be used for treaty-based organizations such
as UNCLOS, ICC, or Kyoto agreement on climate change, cut-backs on U.S.
portion of both regular budget (to 22%) and peacekeeping budget (to 25%).
K. Lord Acton: Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Will this become a problem for the United States?
VI. Pat Buchanan: Should we be guided by patriotism or globalism?
A. Globalization (economic phenomenon) vs. globalism (personal perspective).
B. Unilateralism vs. assertive multilateralism (not just U.N. but also
other IGOs) vs. globalism
C. Global capitalism and the World Trade Organization
D. How can global capitalism be controlled? Global business requires
regulation by democratic global government.
E. Why the national governments can't regulate global business:
competition among the national governments to cater to the corporations.
F. Can the U.N. do much when it is itself controlled by the national
governments which are in turn beholden to the corporations?
G. Political democratic world federation is necessary to put restraints
on economic globalization and the power of transnational corporations.