Letter From The Capitol

Darfur: UN Nix; Private Sector Fix?

WSJ editor Bret Stephens offers a way out for Darfur's genocidal horrors: accept the offer of the Blackwater security firm's CEO, Erik Prince, to allow him to send 250 advisers to train an elite African force; augmented by choppers and other equipment, they could go after the killers. Don't hold your breath for the UN to actually do anything.  It prefers, as BS notes, to strut around, bloviate, and--knowingly--look the other way as genocide continues.

While Blackwater personnel are persona non grata in Iraq, due to allegations that the firm used too much force in carrying out its contractual commitments (leading Hillary to sponsor legislation outlawing the use of private security forces overseas), it turns out, reports the Daily Telegraph, that Obama used Blackwater in Afghanistan to protect him and fellow senators Jack Reed & Chuck Hagel.

Somalia: GloboCop Challenge

To the extent that one may wish for a meaningful role for the United Nations in matters of international security (I do not so wish), a New York Times front-pager offers the classic example of low-grade barbarism of the kind the UN might usefully confront: Somali Islamist gangs are targeting international aid workers, to force them out, which would result in greater mass starvation.  The UN cannot be effective vis-a-vis Iran, where vetoes in the Security Council by the likes of Russia, China & France, three realpolitik-oriented countries, frustrate useful policy aims, save in the rare "alignment of the planets" case like the Gulf War--and even then, UN resolutions impeded America's options at the end of the war.

Somalia represents the kind of low-grade challenge where UN troops, were they competent and well-commanded, could make a difference, bringing minimal post-colonial stability to places of anarchy.  Darfur is another.  No major military is needed, no megabuck expenses.  The UN, needless to say, dithers, as ever.

UN-Hinged Again

Once again the folks at Turtle Bay have not let us down.  Demonstrating true commitment to principle, the General Assembly has chosen a former Sandinista foreign minister, and Lenin Prize winner, no less, as its president, and a representative to be vice-president who comes from the government of...get this...Burma.  Yes, that Burma.  Oops, we mean Myanmar, don't we?  Oh yes, the new president promptly condemned US aggression in Iraq & Afghanistan.  The US stood by as this happened, without registering even symbolic protest by abstention and walking out.  Next milestone, perhaps, will be the Taliban being given observer status akin to that given the Palestinians.  A Wall Street Journal piece identifies one issue the UN will studiously ignore: slavery in the world today.  If America & Israel can't be blamed, why bother?  It will, it seems, take an East River tsunami to fix the mess at Turtle Bay, once and for all.

UN: At Last! A Human Rights Target!

On NRO, Nile Gardiner nails the UN Human Wrongs Council for finding a new target for investigation: America.  Yep.  A UN special rapporteur will be visiting us for three weeks ISO evidence of "racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance" in America.  As NG notes, Burma, China, Zimbabwe and other leading global lights of freedom and gentleness are not on the UN's program.

Come to think of it, there IS reason to investigate America.  Perhaps Barack can set up an appointment with Pastor Wright....or his congregation...or Michelle....

Burma: Tsunami Deja Vu at the UN

A Wall Street Journal editorial lambastes the UN's failure to act decisively in the wake of the cyclone that devastated southern Burma.  It suggests that the UN expel Burma--if the Chinese wish to veto as the Olympics approaches, let them do so and take the heat.  Indicative of the Burmese regime is that upon finally allowing aid packages to come in, the regime stamped boxes with pro-regime propaganda.

The Burma mess recalls the memorable post-Tsunami postings of a GOP (there are a few!) employee at Foggy Bottom, who posted under the sobriquet "Diplomad" from August 2004 - February 2005.  After the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami, he chronicled how heroic relief efforts by the Yanks & Aussies contrasted with the UN and European types sitting on their rails and pontificating.  This New Years' Day 2005 posting conveys the flavor of what went on then.

Bookworms at the UN & a New NGO Watchdog

Well, at the UN they may not yet have "beat their swords into plowshares" but they have, the Washington Post tells us, burnt nearly 100,000 books--as part of a history project, no less.  Kudos to UNESCO!  Savonarola has nothing on these non-local yokels.  Untied Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, eh?  How about United Nations Embracing, Spreading and Celebrating Orwelliamism?

On the good news front, take a peek at the Global Governance Watch website created by its co-sponsors, the American Enterprise Institute & the Federalist Society.  This neat resource will be a massive database tracking four themes common to the UN and the hydra-headed Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) alliances that between them seek to undermine the governance by the democratic nation-state that protects Western constitutional freedoms.  The four themes: (1) Development; (2) Global Regulation; (3) Human Security; (4) National Security.

Yesterday, AEI hosted a kick-off event, featuring former UN Ambassador John Bolton and, among others, Claudia Rosett, scourge of UN corruption scandals.  Bolton stressed how NGOs increasingly use--well, abuse--the legal concept of ius cogens (Latin legalese for "compelling law"--see this Wikipedia for a nutshell article for lay readers) to impose, chiefly upon the United States, compliance obligations despite lack of treaty ratification.  The idea is that by custom certain laws become universally binding.  Except that whereas custom once meant decades, if not centuries, now certain treaties are adopted by 100+ countries and presto, they assert that America is bound by custom.  Nice work if you can get it, eh?

Islamism Takes UN By Storm!

You knew it would happen: the UN's Human Wrongs Council adopted a resolution introduced by the Organization of Islamic Conference nominally, aimed at defamation of religions.  Naturally, the only religion mentioned as a victim was Islam.  Nothing about the Nazi TV aired in the Arab world, littered with blood libels of the Jews.  The vote was 21-10 against, with the European Union & Canada commendably opposed; the U.S. is not a member.  The EU's stance is especially noteworthy, as earlier it had indicated sympathy for action to curb defamation of religion.  Libel's origin, in English common law, was as state prosecution against those who criticized King or Church.  It seems that the UN--hardly a surprise--is joining militant Islam in a journey back over the centuries.

Iran: America Whiffs

A Wall Street Journal editorial explains last week's Security Council adoption of a throed round of sanctions.  Put simply, they add a few people to the list of bad actors, but impose no real added penalty on Iran.  This happened despite tough language from the IAEA inspectors, on Iran's dissembling re its nuclear program.  Not good news for those who fear of nuclear Iran.

World's Number Two Human Rights Violator!

The Wall Street Journal reports that the UN Human Rights Council will release a report naming someone else than Israel as a human rights violator.  North Korea, which starved millions to finance a nuclear weapons program?  Saudi Arabia, which treats guest workers as slaves?  Iran, which medievally tortures regime opponents?  China, which censors Internet access?  Russia, where gangsters have hijacked the economy?  Venezuela, where a thug tyrant has commandeered a petroleum economy and bribed his supporters to stick with him?  Sudan, where genocide continues?

You guessed it: the United States, over demolition of public housing in New Orleans post-Katrina.

UN: Living Large in '08-'09?

A Wall Street Journal editorial gives the UN budget request for the coming fiscal year (2008-2009): a mere 25 percent  increase.  Not included are a couple of billion for "peacekeeping" operations that rarely keep true peace. and where a UN investigation has now found pervasive corruption--illicit contracts to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.  Oh, and guess how much of the UN's basic $4.8 billion budget (which the U.S. estimates will actually turn out to be $5.2 billion) goes to salaries and administrative overhead?  Try 75 percent--NOT a misprint.  Worse, the UN is planning for 2009 a repeat of its infamous 2001 Durban anti-Semitic hate-fest, as this New York Sun editorial details.  Here is more from ace UN scourge Claudia Rosett, who exposed the UN oil-for-food mess, and warns that U.S. UN Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad is asleep at the switch on this.

When John Bolton was nominated to represent us at the UN, he caught lots of flack for a past remark that if 10 stories were taken out of the 38 stories at Turtle Bay, productivity would improve.  How about keeping 10 and taking out 28?  All of which tees up John Bolton's proposal that the entire UN budget be funded as are the WHO and UNICEF (and a few other agencies), with voluntary contributions.  The result would be to shift control from the General Assembly, with its legions of freeloader recipient nations, to the core major donor nations who actually pay most of the bill.  Put simply, the top eight donor nations fund 72.5 percent of the UN's total budget, while the bottom two-thirds (128 of the UN's 192 members) pay a combined share of less than one percent.  The bottom quarter (48 members) pay all of 0.001 percent, an average of $19,000 per country.  This creates classic moral hazard: underwriting bad behavior by subsidizing costs associated with such behavior.

It has been said by wags that the only difference between Congress and kindergarten is that the former lacks adult supervision.  Turtle Bay, it seems, has too much supervision and too little quality output.  Something for the incoming American administration to ponder, come January 2009.