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Monday, November 22nd, 2004
Conservative Republican group urges UN’s expulsion from US A right-wing Republican group Monday launched a television campaign calling for the United Nations to be kicked out of the United States, alleging the world body is a “safe harbor” for terrorism. California-based Move America Forward wants the world body’s New York headquarters shut down and its officials expelled from the country because it failed to support the US-led war on Iraq. “The UN has become an apologist and defender of terrorist organizations and their agents,” claims a 60-second commercial, which also makes cites the oil for food scandal involving alleged fraud in Iraqi oil sales. The spot, which backs a “Get the UN out of the US” petition drive,” claimed that “billions of dollars” intended for UN humanitarian aid was used to pay the families of “Palestinian terrorists” and to buy weapons for Iraq-based terrorists. “It’s time we sent a message to the UN: We are not going to tolerate your conduct anymore. We tell other countries not to harbour organisations that support terrorists, why then do we harbor the UN here in America?,” the commercial added. The advertisement, which Move America Forward officials said would begin airing nationally next week, calls for Americans to sign a petition calling for the United Nations to be booted off US soil. It comes amid resentment from US conservatives over the UN refusal to fully back US President George W. Bush’s decision to attack Iraq on the grounds that it had weapons of mass destruction, which were never came to light. In addition, the group’s petition drive, directed at UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Bush, also calls for “a thorough review of the US financial contributions to the UN with a goal of a more equitable payment schedule.” “Until that review is concluded, eliminate all the payments made by the United States to the United Nations,” the petition states. Move America Forward’s claims to be a “non-partisan, not-for-profit organization” committed to backing the US war on terror and surrpoerting its troops.
It is run by former Republican party politicans and a conservative talk show host and campaigned furiously against outspoken liveral US filmmaker Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which denounced Bush’s war on Iraq.
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