Just a couple of memories about UNESCO, now that I have brought up that once-contentious, now-fairly-yawny body. Shortly after Reagan withdrew the U.S. from UNESCO, I heard Amb. Vernon Walters speak, at the Kennedy School. (I had read his memoirs, Silent Missions, and had been enthralled.) Needless to say, the kids and faculty were hostile in their questions. And Walters parried them beautifully.

I remember something he said about UNESCO. I can’t remember his exact wording, but it was something like: They have a budget of 2 zillion dollars, and they spend 70 percent of it in the 15th, 16th, and 17th arrondissements of Paris. (I’m unsure of the three arrondissements — but the 16th was in there for sure.)

Reagan’s withdrawal from UNESCO was thought to be the ultimate in his Neanderthalism. But it was, of course, one of the best small things he ever did: and I’m not sure how small it was.

Remember M’Bow, that Senegalese kleptocrat? He was the head of UNESCO, and, for many of us, the symbol of U.N. corruption and malice, until Kofi Annan took over that position. (Annan was heavier on the corruption than the malice, to be sure.)

Finally, Bernard Lewis once told me a story about Golda Meir at Princeton. She did not give a speech. She just said, “Look, you know my views. You know my outlook on the world. I have been a public figure for a long time. Why don’t you just ask me some questions.”

So, during this session, someone said, “Why is it that the PLO belongs to UNESCO while Israel does not?” (Israel was forbidden to join, of course.) And Golda said, “Well, let’s see: ‘UNESCO’ stands for ‘United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.’ Obviously, the Palestinians have more to contribute to education, science, and culture than we do.”

Sometimes, sarcasm is the most effective tool in the box.