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history of American foreign policy is an incredible tale of miraculous
rescue missions conducted by our enemies.
Left to our
own devices, we will screw it up, because our culture lacks the
basic elements of sound policy: geography, history, and languages.
We are never ready for the next fight because Americans are the
first people in the history of the world to believe that peace is
the normal condition of mankind. With such a monumental stupidity
at the soft core of our worldview, we fully deserve history's dustbin.
But, as Napoleon rightly insisted, it's better to have lucky leaders
than smart ones, and we've been very lucky in our choice of enemies.
Germany torpedoed
us into World War I. Japan bombed us into World War II (just in
the nick of time). Stalin dragged us into the Cold War. Saddam invaded
Kuwait when we still had an army left over from the Cold War. And
China, instead of whispering sweet nothings, and leaving us to our
own dangerous devices, decided to bully us around. Maybe we even
got the real message.
Now comes the
United Nations riding to the rescue of some of our sillier policymakers,
most of whom gravitate, in accordance with some fascinating principle
of animal magnetism, to the Department of State. The U.N. Human
Rights Commission, whose members are chosen by the holier-than-thou
crowd at UNESCO, kicked us out, while making room for the monstrous
Sudanese regime that combines religious repression and mass murder
with trafficking in human slaves. You couldn't ask for a more explicit
demonstration of all that is wrong with the "new world order"
crowd, and their pathetic calls for the United States to surrender
sovereignty to the U.N. and other "international organizations."
Just a couple of days after the U.N. fiasco, the European Court
ruled that the British Government owes money to the families of
IRA terrorists killed by the British Army. This is just a warm-up
for the big-time, in which the World Court will no doubt order the
United States to pay huge sums to the survivors, widows, and orphans
of Desert Storm, as well as the descendants of 18th- and 19th-century
slaves.
The American
people well understand the rottenness of the United Nations, but
it still attracts a big following among the intelligentsia and such
runaway do-gooders as Ted Turner, who believes that a millennium
of peace can be achieved by turning over the world's destiny to
Kofi Annan. It also has pockets of support within the aforementioned
State Department, most conspicuously in the person of Richard Haass,
the controversial nominee to head the Policy Planning staff, and
simultaneously serve as our special ambassador on the Northern Ireland
case. Haass is one of the most outspoken advocates of a weaker America
and more powerful organizations like the U.N. He thinks we should
give up our superpower delusions ("On its own, the United States
can do little to promote order," he wrote recently), give up
"some freedom of action," tone down our chest-pounding
rhetoric, and "build or strengthen global institutions that
buttress the basic principles of order...."
This sort of
thing so alarmed the good folks at the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee that they delayed consideration of Haass's nomination.
They can now ask him if he would like to reconsider these deep thoughts,
in light of the U.N.'s odious action. While they're at it, they
might like to ask Secretary Powell the same question, and then show
they have their priorities in proper order by confirming John Bolton,
who has long argued against sharing our sovereign powers with the
United Nations.
Whatever Haass's
destiny, we're clearly scheduled for a rip-roaring debate on the
U.N., which is long-since overdue. The finest exposition of our
concerns was given by Jesse Helms a year or two ago, in a memorable
discourse to the U.N. delegates in New York. He pulled no punches.
He told them most Americans don't like them, considering them corrupt,
meddlesome, and irresponsible. He warned that they'd better clean
up their carnival if they want American support.
Now we have
their considered response.
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