Dr. Dennis Cuddy -- Waiting for Brahimi?

WAITING FOR BRAHIMI?

By Dennis L. Cuddy, Ph.D.
May 27, 2004
NewsWithViews.com

When President Bill Clinton on October 19, 1993 pronounced regarding Somalia that his administration was engaging in a political process "to see how we can...do all the things the United Nations ordered to do," conservatives were outraged. How could a president be so deferential to the Socialist-dominated U.N.?

But then in President George W. Bush's April 13, 2004 press conference, after he explained his initiative in Iraq was critical to the freedom of the world, he said he was waiting for U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to tell him to whom sovereignty would be turned over on June 30 there! This is amazing, given that once sovereignty is turned over to the Iraqis, they eventually can tell us what we can and can't do there militarily.

However, conservatives shouldn't really be surprised, as President George W. Bush and his father at times have expressed a deference toward the U.N. And the current President Bush in late September of last year said: "I do think it would be helpful to get the United Nations in to help write a constitution (for Iraq). I mean, they're good at that. Or, perhaps when an election starts, they'll oversee the election."

Shortly after these statements, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced on October 30, 2003: "The United States is pleased to return to UNESCO....Our governments have entrusted us with the responsibility of preparing our children to become citizens of the world....UNESCO is a powerful forum for sharing our views, developing a common strategy, and implementing joint action." One of the last things conservatives want is to submit our children to "a common strategy" and "joint action" with the U.N. And because the concept of "citizen" carries a legal obligation (e.g., citizens of a state have to obey its laws), does that mean as "citizens of the world� we are now subject to world law?

In Congress, there is growing opposition to the U.N. On July 23, 2003 an amendment to the appropriations bill that would have ceased U.S. funding for the U.N. garnered 141 Republican votes in the House, including those of Reps. Tom DeLay, Henry Hyde and Ron Paul (the amendment's sponsor).

The conservative opposition to the U.N. has been countered by media support for the global body, as Andy Rooney on CBS's "60 Minutes" (October 12, 2003) affirmed his support of the U.N., saying: "There has to be some power in the world superior to our own." President Clinton has indicated his support for world government in a letter to the World Federalist Association, which has now merged with the Campaign for United Nations Reform to form Citizens for Global Solutions (motto: Building a World Community Under Law), with a mission of strengthening the U.N. And when President Clinton's nominee for Secretary of State Warren Christopher testified before Sen. Joseph Biden's Committee on Foreign Relations on January 13, 1993, they discussed the possibility of NATO becoming a peacekeeping surrogate for the U.N. "to foster the creation of a new world order."

Supporters of world government today are telling us the lesson of Iraq is that no matter how powerful any nation is, including the U.S., it must turn to the U.N. for help in achieving solutions. Unfortunately, it looks as if President Bush is buying that message.

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Dennis Laurence Cuddy, historian and political analyst, received a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (major in American History, minor in political science). Dr. Cuddy has taught at the university level, has been a political and economic risk analyst for an international consulting firm, and has been a Senior Associate with the U.S. Department of Education.

Cuddy has also testified before members of Congress on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice. Dr. Cuddy has authored or edited seventeen books and booklets, and has written hundreds of articles appearing in newspapers around the nation, including The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He has been a guest on numerous radio talk shows in various parts of the country, such as ABC Radio in New York City, and he has also been a guest on the national television programs USA Today and CBS's Nightwatch.