Posted By:
Howard Kaloogian
Permalink

April 18, 2005

Honorable XXXXX XXXXXX
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator:

We, on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of active supporters of Move America Forward, are requesting your support for President George W. Bush’s nomination of John Bolton as United States Ambassador to the United Nations. 

The President is entitled to his nominee for the post of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and he has selected a man who is both qualified and experienced to carry out the important foreign policy responsibilities incumbent with this post.  The perilous nature of the world today necessitates a strong and forceful advocate of American interests, especially when representing our nation’s interests at the United Nations.  Mr. Bolton’s record is impeccable in this regard. 

We grew up at a time when the United Nations was considered the best hope for mankind to avert world wars and sustain a lasting peace for future generations.  We know that many Americans have participated, at some point in their life, with efforts to aid the United Nations missions – whether as children collecting small change for UNICEF during Halloween, or through assistance efforts to help the victims of the South Asian tsunami.  We have been grateful for those success stories where killer diseases were eradicated, and always hopeful that UN peacekeepers would restore peace and civility in some of the world’s most unstable and dangerous regions.

Unfortunately, the record of the United Nations in the past two decades has been very disappointing overall, as the UN has turned into a gathering place for the worst representatives of civilized society.  Despots, dictators and tyrants have formed voting blocs in the United Nations General Assembly, seemingly intent on advancing an anti-American agenda.  The U.S. has been ridiculed endlessly by UN member nations and officials because of their contempt for our nation’s economic prowess and military strength – even mocking our own heritage of promoting freedom.

The UN has failed in many other ways.  UN peacekeeping efforts have increasingly proven less effective in preventing conflicts; genocides have occurred without mercy; corruption has become rampant, most brazenly in the Oil for Food program; sex scandals including allegations of raping children are the norm for UN peacekeepers and other UN officials, not the exception; anti-Semitism stands with anti-Americanism as the currency of the realm; the UN has looked ridiculously weak when it could not manage to enforce its own resolutions regarding Iraq; tyrannical dictators, despots and murderous thugs destroy their countries with impunity; and protection of human rights has been horrendous and tragic under the joke of a Human Rights Commission, where the Sudan stood as a member nation at the same time that Libya served as the Commission’s chair. 

Move America Forward was founded to rally American support for the most important issue facing our nation – the fight against terrorism.  It saddens us to observe that the UN has been of little help and even admitted to a disturbing failure to take action.  In a recent report by the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, the UN concedes that sanctions against Al-Qaida, “…suffer from lagging support and implementation by Member States and affect only a small subset of known Al-Qaida operatives, while a number of States are lagging behind in their compliance with the directives of the Counter-Terrorism Committee.”

No one during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Bolton’s nomination, neither Republican nor Democrat, could really utter a nice word about the recent conduct of the United Nations.  In fact several Democrat Senators claimed that Under Secretary Bolton’s criticisms of the United Nations in the past have been largely on target.  Profound disappointment with the UN is widespread.

The inescapable truth is that the United Nations, despite all of our wishes, hopes and dreams, has become a failed institution.  So where do we go from here?  Obviously, we need a strong and effective international organization that can provide a means for nations to cooperate when multilateral actions are required.  The President and Mr. Bolton are committed to reforming the United Nations so it can fulfill the dreams of those who worked up the organizations framework back in 1945 in San Francisco. 

We want to be very honest and blunt with you.  We are not at all optimistic that the UN can be saved and reformed.  While the record of the UN in the Cold War was hardly satisfactory, the new threat of international terrorism has made it all the more imperative that we initiate the necessary changes in our relationships with international organizations.  We believe the UN has long since outlived most of its usefulness, and it more often advances an agenda that is harmful to the American people.  However, if there is to be any hope of making the United Nations an ally for peace, freedom and democracy, it can only occur if someone of the caliber, qualifications and demeanor of John Bolton is confirmed as our Ambassador.

There are critical international issues that face the United States, and it is important to have a strong voice for economic and political freedom – as prosperous democracies neither start wars nor harbor terrorists.  Of the 191 Member states in the United Nations, the non-partisan group Freedom House says that only 40% of them are democratic societies that enjoy political rights and civil liberties.  That means more than half of the Members are not allies in promoting democracy and freedom. 

Every President since Franklin Roosevelt, Democrat and Republican alike, have championed liberty and freedom for the world.  They have all known that American security is assured when the rest of the world is both prosperous and free.  Can the United Nations be an instrument for such change when so many of the members stand in partial or total defiance of that goal?

No wonder the American public has increasingly lost trust and respect for the United Nations.  A recent Rasmussen Reports survey found that only 37% of Americans have a favorable opinion of the UN [Rasmussen Reports February 15-16, 2005. Survey of 1,000 adults].  And a recent Gallup poll found that 61% of Americans believe the UN is doing a poor job addressing the problems currently facing the organization - [Gallup poll, February 7-10, 2005].

The time has come to face the reality of what the United Nations has become and look realistically at what positive work they do that can be salvaged, and what important work must we seek from another organization.  We have strongly supported the idea of a new organization to fulfill at least some of the United Nation’s mission – an organization comprised of the world’s freedom-loving countries.  These are the nations who already do the heavy lifting when it comes to humanitarian relief and peacekeeping efforts.  These nations also comprise most of the world’s economic and military power. Wouldn’t a body that showed greater respect for American values serve as a better vehicle to achieve the goals of peace, democracy, liberty, freedom and human dignity in the world?

America is a beacon of hope for all those who seek freedom, security, and human rights.  We must remember that people wish to come to America precisely because these cherished ideals are lacking in so many other parts of the world.  Our goal should be to guarantee American security by spreading the light of liberty around the world.

Confirming John Bolton as U.S. Ambassador to the UN is the next step in the necessary journey whereby our nation must come to grips with the responsibilities and burdens of being the world’s only super power. 

The President of the United States selected John Bolton because he believes he is the right man for the job.  We concur that he is the right man for this job, and the President is entitled to his nominee.  We strongly support John Bolton’s nomination to serve as United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and we encourage your enthusiastic support.

Sincerely,