The United Nations has become a Useless Notion occupying
valuable real estate on the East River. Why do we put up with
this consortium of petty dictators and corrupt oligarchies? The
recent election of the new president of the General Assembly
confirms my suspicion that to achieve success in the United
Nations, one must hate the United States.
The fact that Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua is a
Catholic priest shouldn't dismiss his clearly anti-American
statements of the past. An avowed advocate of the Marxist
liberation theology, he had been reprimanded by Pope John Paul II
for his involvement with the left-wing Nicaraguan Sandinistas. He
served as foreign minister under the dictatorship of Daniel
Ortega. Mr. d'Escoto has called President Reagan a "butcher
of my people" and claims he started the Contra War. He also
calls President Bush a liar, which should endear him to the likes
of Keith Olbermann, Bill Maher, and the Hollywood elite.
At a press conference following his unopposed election as General
Assembly president, Mr. d'Escoto tried to soften his previous
rhetoric, but we shouldn't forget who this man is. As a member of
Los Doce, or "the 12," Mr. d'Escoto helped mask the
communist orientation of the Sandinista National Liberation Front
and played a key role in the Marxists' rise to power. Now, he
says let's let bygones be bygones.
As an adviser to Mr. Ortega, Mr. d'Escoto also endorsed
Nicaragua's ties to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and to Iran's
president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This resulted in Iranian
investment deals, mutual visits, and Ortega's endorsement before
the U.N. General Assembly of Iran's demand to develop its nuclear
capabilities.
Further proof that the United Nations is run by Marxist thugs and
dictators was its recent rejection of a nongovernmental
organization led by Armando Valladares, the Cuban who was kept in
prison by Castro for 22 years.
The U.N. Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations rejected the
application of the Human Rights Foundation, because the Cuban
representative charged that Mr. Valladares was a convicted
criminal and had participated in terrorist activities. The
decision was voted against by Colombia, Israel, Peru, and, of
course, the United States. Siding with Cuba, who held this man
prisoner for more than two decades, were Sudan, Venezuela,
Angola, China, Egypt, and Russia, among other countries whose own
records on human rights remain suspect.
Mr. Valladares had been a prisoner of conscience in Cuba and is
now recognized as a distinguished poet and writer who founded the
Human Rights Foundation upon his release. Its mission is a deep
commitment to individual liberty and an aim to raise awareness
about both the nature of freedom and the vulnerability of freedom
in the Americas. Well, no wonder the U.N. commission rejected
that radical group.
According to the U.N. Charter, the organization's purposes are
"to maintain international peace and security; to develop
friendly relations among nations; to cooperate in solving
international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian
problems and in promoting respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms."
Now when has it done that? How long have Christians been killed
and persecuted in the Sudan? But what a great job the United
Nations did evacuating all the Europeans while nearly a million
Rwandans slew each other. What about that sex scandal in 2005
when Secretary-General Annan had to admit that U.N. peacekeepers
and staff have sexually abused or exploited war refugees in the
Democratic Republic of Congo. The worst of the 150 or so
allegations of misconduct include pedophilia, rape, and
prostitution.
One thing the United Nations does do on a regular basis is
denounce Israel - a tiny nation surrounded by countries calling
for its elimination - whenever it takes retaliatory action
against attacks. Let's not forget the Oil for Food scandal,
Zimbabwe, Somalia, Burma, and the other festering hot spots
around the world that the United Nations is incapable of
monitoring.
Why do we tolerate such a presence in our city? I recommend that
we evict the Useless Notion and export it to a country that
appreciates effete diplomacy. France, which just convicted
Brigitte Bardot of inciting Islamaphobia for writing a letter
critical of Muslim immigrants, might be a possibility, although
President Sarkozy may turn out to be our best ally. Canada's
another choice. The thought police on its Human Rights Commission
put Mark Steyn on trial for the same offense because he quoted
something that offended the Canadian Islamic community. A
Canadian investigator for the commission, Dean Steacy, said:
"Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don't give
it any value."
Senator McCain will be in Toronto today. Maybe he can convince
the Canadians to take the United Nations off our hands,
demonstrating once and for all the benefit of the North American
Free Trade Agreement from which Senator Obama is threatening to
withdraw.