The UN Address

President Obama’s address to the United Nations General Assembly continues to provide us with insight as to his view of the world and America’s position in that world. Unfortunately, this view of the world does not appreciate the greatness of the United States or its proper place in the history of mankind.

Mr. Obama said that “No world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will succeed.” If you take the President at his world, this means that America and the values of her people are no better than such nations as Saudi Ruled Arabia (which subjugates women to the point where they cannot drive or be out in public unaccompanied by a male member of their family) or Somalia (where gangs controlled by warlords rule the population with fear and summary executions).

This is not the first time that President Obama fails to understand the concept of American Exceptionalism. During his first trip to Europe, when asked if he believed in American Exceptionalism, Mr. Obama said he did, just like an Englishman believed in the exceptionalism of the United Kingdom. What a far cry from President Reagan’s belief of American as the last, best hope of mankind on earth.

The President then continued by saying that “The traditional divisions between nations of the South and the North make no sense in an interconnected world; nor do alignments of nations rooted in the cleavages of the long-gone Cold War.” Of course, the United Nations is an odd venue to make this statement considering that it, in and of itself, has deep roots in the Cold War. Also, I’m sure that our European allies were thrilled to hear that NATO, as an alignment of nations rooted in the cleavages of the Cold War, makes no sense. I wonder how that statement played in Taipei, considering our treaty obligations to the Republic of China are an alignment of nations rooted in the cleavages of the Cold War. Maybe we should rethink our alliances with South Korea and Japan – both of which are alignments of nations rooted in the cleavages of the Cold War.

Evidently, Mr. Obama fails to realize that our alliances during the Cold War were not simply for convenience. Rather, they were, for the most part, alliances of free nations made to oppose an ideology who’s basic premise was worldwide revolution in order to enslave people for the benefit of the state.

President Obama also made the statement that “…the interests of nations and people are shared.” This may or may not be true. Clearly, the mullahs running Iran believe that possessing nuclear weapons is in their interests. However, the Israelis do not believe, and rightfully so, that having nuclear armed mullahs is in their interests. Also, Poland and the Czech Republic believed that a ballistic missile shield was in their best interest. The Russians felt differently so the Obama Administration appeased the Russians and cancelled the missile shield. How exactly do you reconcile the fact that the interests of these four nations are shared?

Evidently, the President of the United States does not understand the first rule of international relations – sovereign nations act in their own self interests. Every American should find it troubling that the person constitutionally in charge of our foreign policy is so naive as not to understand this basic principal.

Meanwhile, as President Obama continues his worldwide apology tour, the Iranians continue to work on their nuclear bomb. At the same time that the President talks about reaching out to the “moderate” Taliban, he won’t commit more troops to Afghanistan so that we can win that war. Mr. Obama pulls the rug out from under our NATO allies on missile defense while the Russians oppose sanctions against Iran. For all of his talk about a new way of dealing with other nations, President Obama has nothing to show for it. Remember, he couldn’t even get our closest ally, the United Kingdom, to keep the murderer of over 300 Americans incarcerated. Hopefully, Mr. Obama will realize that talk is cheap, before it’s too late.

Kim Jong-il Strikes Again

In the past week, North Korea has detonated a nuclear devise and launch 5 ballistic missiles. All of these actions are in direct defiance of the United Nations’ Security Councils “strongly worded” presidential statement of April 5. In response to the news of this “strongly worded” presidential statement, I said on April 7 that the UN is not effective in dealing with madmen who are heads of state. I also asked the question “how many times does the United Nations have to fail to act before the Obama Administration will realize that it is nothing more than a failed anti-American organization?” Apparently, the answer is more than twice, because that’s how many times North Korea has defied the UN since President Obama took office.

If the Western allies, and, unfortunately, by extension, the UN fails to take strong and decisive actions against North Korea for it’s most recent round of belligerent behavior, the message to all Third World dictators who aspire to obtain nuclear weapons will be clear – “Go ahead and get them. We will do nothing!”

It is imperative for the security of the world that, at minimum, strong and effective sanctions be imposed on North Korea. China and Russia must be active participants. Both of those countries must abide by the sanctions and must use their militaries to enforce them. We can no longer accept a wink and a nod from the Chinese as they promise to veto sanction regime after sanction regime. Especially because North Korea is extremely vulnerable to sanctions. The North Koreans import almost all of their energy and they cannot produce enough food to feed their citizens.

The question becomes how do we force the Chinese to finally agree to punish their communist ally. This is not easy. The Chinese are extremely worried that an effective sanctions regime will cause a flood of North Korean refugees across its borders. Beijing also is known to have a soft spot for other Asian communist dictatorships.

The single greatest pressure point to use against China is it’s historic rival, Japan. If the Chinese fail to cause the North Koreans to cease their nuclear program and their ballistic missile development, the United States must assist Japan in obtaining nuclear weapons. It is not unheard of for the United States to assist an ally with its nuclear program. We have been doing that with the United Kingdom since 1958. This will require Japan to change its constitution and defense posture, but it may very well be the only thing that will force China to act.

China wants nothing less than a nuclear armed Japan. If the Chinese leadership believes that the Japanese are serious in their desires to counter the North Korean nuclear threat by arming themselves with nuclear weapons, China may very well take actions against North Korea just to avoid the prospect of a Japanese nuclear program.

Since Kim Jong-il has once again proven that “strongly worded” statements from the United Nations have no effect on his behavior, it is time that we move on to something else. The time for saying “Stop or I’ll say ‘stop’ again” is over. The time for President Obama’s UN Ambassador, Susan Rice, telling the Today Show that “we really mean business this time” has come and gone. President Obama spent Memorial Day looking like a deer in the headlights as he said that the UN would take up the issue of North Korea very soon. As I’ve been saying since January, the President must stop showing weakness to those who would kill us. Strong and decisive action is need now.

It is unfortunate that an arms race in Asia may be the only thing that can stop a nuclear armed madman. But, it may just be the thing needed to show China and North Korea that we mean business. If not, maybe President Obama should rethink his cuts in our missile defense system.

Talk is Cheap

Once again the United Nations has proven to be a useless institution for international security. Following North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile on Sunday, the UN Security Council convened for over three hours in a closed door session. The result of the meeting – you guessed it, nothing! The 15 members of the Security Council were unable to come to an agreement about what actions to take against the North Korean regime. Even prior to the meeting, China and Russia both made clear that they would use their veto power to block any resolution imposing new sanctions on Pyongyang, in part because they were not convinced that the missile launch violated prior Security Council resolutions.

In fact, the meeting of the Security Council was useless to the point that upon issuing the statement as the current president of the Security Council, Mexico’s UN Ambassador, Claude Heller, was prevented from using the phrase “express concern”. The only thing he was allowed to say was that Council members “agreed to continue consultations on the appropriate reaction by the Council…” I bet that Kim Jong-il, and dictators around the world for that matter, is quaking in his high heeled boots.

President Obama persists in his policy of running to the United Nations anytime there is an action by a rogue regime that threatens the security of the United States. The facts are that the UN is not effective in dealing with madmen who are heads of state. And yet, Obama’s UN Ambassador, Susan Rice, is still calling for the UN to make a “clear and firm response.” How many times does the United Nations have to fail to act before this administration will realize that it is nothing more than a failed anti-American organization?

The international community that the President often speaks of is a fiction. It has no influence. It doesn’t exist. It doesn’t do anything.

By launching this missile on the day that President Obama gave a grandiose speech in the Czech Republic about ridding the world of nuclear weapons, the North Koreans were sending him a message. That message is that there is no enforcement mechanism by which the President can fulfill this dream. It’s as if Mr. Obama believes that the moral authority of the United States will influence the two remaining members of the Axis of Evil to abandon their nuclear programs.

Of course, this will not happen. All nations act in their own self interests. The way to influence crazy dictators is with pressure. Not only diplomatic pressure, but, more importantly, economic pressure and military pressure. So far, there has been no economic pressure or military pressure against North Korea.

Unfortunately, it now appears that Kim Join-il is stronger than ever. According to Koh Yu-hwan, a Dongguk University professor of North Korea studies “Pride among North Koreans stemming from what they believe to be a successful launch would help keep his regime intact…” Mr. Koh believes that this launch creates a better atmosphere for Kim to hand over power to his chosen successor.

In Prague, Mr. Obama made the hollow promise that there will be consequences for North Korea's actions. So, while the President and his Secretary of State pound their fists and say that they type of action will not stand, the dictator taking the action grows stronger. When Mr. Obama says that North Korea has further isolated itself from the community of nations, what exactly does he mean? What is the consequence? It can’t possibly be that a closed door meeting of the Security Council in which nothing happens (and the outcome was predetermined) is a consequence in and of itself, can it? If so, President Obama’s childish dream of a world without nuclear weapons is further away than ever.

Another Day, Another Scandal

Prior to the Iraq War, we here at RSP spent many lunch hours debating which organization was more corrupt, the United Nations or the International Olympic Committee. Both are anti-American, anti-capitalist organizations that excuse the behavior of third world dictators. However, the uncovering of the Oil for Food scandal (or, as we liked to call it, the Oil for Palaces scandal), cemented the UN as the more corrupt of the two organizations.

You would think the a scandal of the size of the Oil for Palaces program would force the UN to keeps its nose clean. Well, guess again, it didn’t. This past week, according to a confidential UN internal investigation (the UN’s investigation are almost always confidential. That way, we, the US taxpayers who pay most of the UN’s freight, won’t know that our hard earned money has been stolen by international bureaucrats), the UN official in charge of the UN’s Afghanistan reconstruction efforts diverted over $500,000 to himself for his personal use.

Gary K. Helseth, the head of the UN Office for Project Services in Afghanistan from 2002 through 2006, is accused of using the funds for lavish purchases. The investigation claims that Helseth improperly used hundreds of thousand of dollars that were given to the UN’s Afghanistan reconstruction program by the US Agency for International Development.

These purchases included first class flights to Las Vegas and meals in expensive restaurants in Copenhagen, Dubai, Florence and New York City. Additionally, the investigators’ report changes that Helseth diverted funds for rent and a home renovation. Mr. Helseth is also accused of stealing $65,000 in cash from a UN safe and billing the United States and other international donors more than $60,000 for entertainment, including grandiose parties at his Kabul residence where guests enjoyed beluga caviar, Norwegian salmon and foie gras.

But the opulence didn’t stop there. Helseth defends his purchased of a new Lexus with UN money. However, he does admit that the purchase of $66,000 in gym equipment was “a little over the top”.

What do the powers that be at the UN do after the issuance of this report? They disband the unit that conducted the investigation and they prevent the head of this unit, Robert M. Appleton, from being promoted to the head of the UN’s investigations division. Why was Mr. Appleton denied his promotion, you ask? Well, top UN officials said it was because Mr. Appleton is a Mr. (i.e., he isn’t a female) and he is an American. So much for the UN being a meritocracy. With this gem, UN officials have finally outed themselves as the practitioners of identity politics.

This is just another in a long line of scandals that involve high ranking UN officials. Here’s a list of a few others:

· Of course there is the previously mentioned Oil for Food program, in which then-UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan’s, son personally profited.

· Don’t forget when the United Nations disclosed that its Ukrainian peacekeeping contingent in Lebanon, including the commanding officer, had engaged in "significant financial misconduct".

· There is my personal favorite – the sexual abuse and exploitation of war refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by UN peacekeepers and staff. The worst of the approximately 150 allegations of misconduct--some of them captured on videotape--included pedophilia, rape, and prostitution.

· Also, there was the 2005 scandal in the UN procurement department in which several Russian nationals pleaded guilty to bribery and corruption.

· Of course, what list of UN malfeasance would be complete without mentioning the outright larceny at U.N. offices in Geneva.

· How about more sex, the deportation of more than 100 Sri Lankan peacekeepers from Haiti for the selling of Haitian women into prostitution.

· Allegations of bribes paid for tsunami relief projects in Indonesia.

· There was a bribery scheme at the airport in Kosovo.

· Let’s not forget about the theft and resale of food rations by Ukrainian pilots serving the United Nations in Liberia.

With a record like this, it is unfortunate that so many Americans worship at the alter of the United Nations. With the UN in the midst of an attempted international power grab by trying to implement a world wide system of “Cap and Trade” and strongly advocating for an international currency in place of the dollar, it is helpful to remember that they are unable to keep their own house in order.

Americans should always remember that the UN is nothing more than a hapless, anti-American, anti-capitalist, anti-Semitic bureaucracy and a corrupt organization. It can’t even achieve its primary goal – the prevention of war. However, the UN is excellent at one thing – it does prevent war from being effective. Just ask the Israelis.

The Awakening

Reporting from the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington:

The "leader board" after Day 1 of CPAC 2009 on Thursday is populated by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), a young patriot the nation will embrace in years to come, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), who is a riveting speaker, the wry and authoritative John Bolton, and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, an advocate of fair election practices stemming from the fury in Ohio on Election Night 2000, and beyond.

There is a sense of urgency and a tug of destiny among these patriotic conservatives. In these horrific times, optimism is bubbling. The Obama opportunists underestimate these tremors of unrest at their peril.

To open CPAC, American Conservative Union president David Keene noted record attendance, now north of 8,500. The attendees I've met personally are here from Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Utah, to name a few. At the first CPAC in 1973, 125 registrants, mostly from "inside the Beltway", gathered to hear the keynote speaker -- a former Governor named Ronald Reagan.

This week's swarm of enthusiastic attendees is half comprised of engaging, optimistic college students. Very encouraging, to say the least. Today's CPAC also attracts 90 co-sponsoring organizations.

Highlights on Day 1 from the historic Omni Shoreham Hotel:

Paul Ryan, 38, is a gifted and forceful speaker, both eloquent and entertaining. His home run line today was that "without enduring (Conservative) principals, we get change but no direction."

Ryan urged Conservatives not to "erect roadblocks" merely to deter the Obama administration but to "create roadmaps" that can lead our nation away from the Marxist threat we face in 2009.

Learn more about Ryan's vision at AmericanRoadmap.org.

No one was on top of his game more than the former U.S. representative to the United Nations, John Bolton, who used his dry one-liners and searing criticism -- both of Presidents Bush and Obama -- to inspire repeated applause and cheers from audience of more than 8,000 attendees.

"The (global) challenges we face may be more than this (Obama) administration can handle," Bolton said. "But the good news is, if (Conservatives) get our acts together, he is a one-termer!"

Bolton wasn't through. "On foreign policy, I don't think President Obama thinks it's a priority. ... (But) a threat to the safety of any American is a threat to our nation. A President who doesn't understand that has a lot to learn."

Turning to Iran, Bolton acknowledged that there are unfortunate parallels between Bush and Obama on the refusal of the United States to confront Iran's military and nuclear ambitions.

Iran's determination to develop weapons of mass destruction is not motivated "by an abstract interest in astrophysics," he said. Bolton fears future military responses to Iran will be left to Israel because "you can count on (the Obama administration) NOT to use force against Iran."

Ohio's Blackwell appeared on a panel entitled, "Al Franken and ACORN: How Liberals are Destroying the American Election System". If the public tuned into even half of what has been done and is on tap to hijack the integrity of free elections, there would be revolt that would cross party lines.

Putting aside spending he proposes, President B. Hussein Obama is leading "the greatest realignment of political power ... ever witnessed," pointing to liberal agendas on six fronts: "card check" intrusions on union workers; censorship of talk radio and other mediums; blanket amnesty proposals for 12 million+ illegal immigrants; universal same-day voter registration; the packing of federal courts with liberal activist judges at the appellate level; and the hijacking of the U.S. Census.

"Taken collectively, you can begin to see the game plan," Blackwell said. "It is a battle of the nature of the relationship to our government as individuals, and the nature of our culture. This is a battle cry."

Indiana's charismatic Congressman Pence crystallized the undeterred resolve of the thousands who converged on the largest CPAC in history.

"We are on the brink of a great American awakening," Pence said. "And it will be Conservatives who will lead it. Beginning right here (in 2009)."