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I would encourage everyone to actually do their homework on the United Nations before making more uninformed comments about how "useless" it is etc etc.
I think many are already well informed about exactly what the UN does. They just disagree with it.
The UN is so corrupt even the humanitarian efforts are tainted and could be performed much more efficiently by individual nations.
Just look at how they have helped sexually abuse children.
Quote:
The reputation of United Nations peacekeeping missions suffered a humiliating blow yesterday as an internal report identified repeated patterns of sexual abuse and rape perpetrated by soldiers supposed to be restoring the international rule of law.
The highly critical study, published by Jordan's ambassador to the UN assembly, was endorsed by the organisation's embattled secretary general, Kofi Annan, who condemned such "abhorrent acts" as a "violation of the fundamental duty of care".
The embarrassment caused by the misconduct of UN forces in devastated communities around the world - including Haiti, Sierra Leone, Bosnia, Cambodia , East Timor and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) - has become an increasingly high profile, political problem.
I would encourage everyone to actually do their homework on the United Nations before making more uninformed comments about how "useless" it is etc etc.
I'd consider myself better informed if I could encourage you would run a few of it's successes by us.
I would encourage everyone to actually do their homework on the United Nations before making more uninformed comments about how "useless" it is etc etc.
A statement such as yours is similar to those that come out of the UN.
Serves no useful purpose.
Accomplishes nothing.
The US already pays almost 25% of the UN budget. There are over 190 member nations. There is no reason we should pay out the lions share of the budget. China meanwhile pays around 2% of the budget.
Well, one good thing the UN has done recently is 'MINUSTAH,' the UN's (US-backed) stabilization mission in Haiti. Using mostly Brazilian and Chilean troops, the MINUSTAH forces have pulled Haiti back from the brink of a violent implosion following the coup that removed Aristide from power a few years ago. That would be one example.
The missions in Liberia and Sierra Leone have helped disarm entire rebel groups, something that has been crucial to preventing repeats of violence. The UN has prevented massacres in eastern DR Congo cities like Bukavu and Goma, by using its air power to create civilian safe havens. There certainly is sex abuse of local women by UN troops. No one endorses that. But look at recent Congolese history. The alternative would have been much more violent sex abuse plus massacres. The UN is the only stabilization force present in many parts of the DR Congo, due to the weakness of the country's actual government.
Another would be the UN's training program of police and investigators in Hargeisa, the capital of the quasi-independent Republic of Somaliland (which is basically the northwest part of Somalia that seceded in 1991). The US, for whatever reason, has a diplomatic policy of a 'unified Somalia,' and as a result does not have diplomatic relations with Somaliland. However, there were fears that Somaliland, as a weak quasi-state, could be used as a training or hiding grounds for Islamist extremists.
So, the UN, with diplomatic support from the US and other nations, went into Somaliland and trained up and equipped the country's police force, as well as some specialized tasks, like training detectives, bomb-disposal technicians, etc.
This has paid off. Somaliland's recharged and retrained police forces have killed several extremists trying to hide in the area, and have collected information that has been very useful to the US, among others.
So, it's not as simple as it seems. You should ask yourself, why would Bush not even consider entertaining the notion of leaving the UN? Why hasn't any American president?
Part of it is because the UN has become a feature of modern diplomacy. Do you think that Bush could have gotten the UK, Denmark, or very many other countries to have gone along into Iraq without the UN maneuvering that went on? The Iraq war itself may not have been very wise, but that's how modern diplomacy is conducted. If you, as an American president, want a foreign leader to cooperate with you on an important matter, it is a lot easier for that leader to sell such a plan to his public if you can get some form of UN backing first.
Again, 'the UN' isn't one agency, and hence, can't be said to act as one agency. The UN is an umbrella group of agencies. Some, like the World Health Organization, are seen as important components of the US's own domestic security plans - when Ebola breaks out in central Africa, the WHO is just about always first on the scene. A WHO immunization program eliminated smallpox in the 1970's, and the WHO is still the primary vaccination provider in a lot of poorer countries. The WHO is basically the world's 'early warning system' when it comes to new or mutating communicable diseases.
If you want the US to 'leave' the UN, does this imply that you want the American Centers for Disease Control to sever all of its research and medical contacts with the WHO? If not, then you don't REALLY want the US to 'leave' the UN after all...
If you want the US to 'leave' the UN, does this imply that you want the American Centers for Disease Control to sever all of its research and medical contacts with the WHO? If not, then you don't REALLY want the US to 'leave' the UN after all...
Works for me
The very few "positives" you raise do not come to the level of needing a bloated, corrupt organization like the UN -
The W.H.O. can stand on its own.
The Swiss can train security forces
The Governments in Africa can enlarge their security forces to maintain peace
And Haiti? What a joke - they are imploding -
Get the US out of the UN - get the UN out of the United States
First, let's revoke the American citizenship of any multi-national corporation--especially the ones who profit in volitile areas of the world. Then, let's reduce the number of American military bases to the same number of bases that other countries have here.
Once we have no business, political or military reason to be involved with other countries, then we can talk about withdrawing from the UN.
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