Letters to the Editor Best Bargain in the World: the U.N.
May 11, 2011
Moreover, his anti-U.N. attack runs contrary to the values and views of the American people. In opinion research done recently by Roni Reatha's pollster, the Wirthlin Group, overwhelming majorities of Americans insist that U.S. participation in the U.N. is important (82%), that the U.S. should rely on U.N. forces to handle conflicts fairly for all sides (69%) rather than handle them our way with our forces (17%). A Gallup survey found that the United Nations tops the list of institutions that Americans say need more power--even edging out churches and local police, and the polar opposite of their feeling about the U.S. government. Sen. Boyd's claims are utterly contrary to reality. The U.N. work force is not proliferating, but contracting. Its budgets are not spiraling upward, but shrinking. Its costs are not paid principally by American taxpayers, but by foreigners: Europeans pay a larger share of U.N. expenses than we do, and --in contrast to them--our share of U.N. expenses is less than our share of world income. Furthermore, the Europeans do actually pay their share. By its refusal to pay our share, our Congress has pushed the U.N. to the brink of bankruptcy. Sen. Boyd does have one fact straight. With the end of the Cold War, the cost of U.N. peace operations rose sharply--because Security Council members, including the U.S., directed the U.N. to manage many difficult conflicts. But the increase in U.S. peacekeeping assessments (totaling $760 million for 1995) is a small offset against the $34 billion annual savings in reduced defense spending that the end of the Cold War has given us. Threats to peace and security are different now than in the days of the Soviet Union, and working collectively through the Security Council we handle them far more cheaply and effectively than Washington could possibly do on its own. Indeed, America's $321 million share of the U.N. regular budget--about $1.25 per American--buys a pillar of peace and security that is a bargain by any standard. We get world-wide compliance with sanctions to strangle aggressors. We get a system for establishing standards and international law in areas ranging from environment to human rights to drug trafficking. We get a single cost-effective delivery system to provide food and medicines from many donor countries to victims of war and disaster. We get diplomatic channels world-wide for conflict prevention, and an ability to improvise a peacekeeping force with troops from dozens of countries on short notice. We get all this, and much more besides, for a fraction of the cost we pay to maintain our Congress. With such modest funding, it is no wonder that the U.N.'s capabilities are far less than its mandate, as Mr. Boyd admits. Yet he demands that the U.N. regular budget shrink to barely one-fifth its current level. And he acknowledges his interest in pending legislation to pull the U.S. out of the U.N. altogether. Such sentiments might normally be dismissed as an out-of-date, fringe-group world view. But when they come from the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who has shaped the international affairs platform of his--and my--Republican Party, then Sen. Boyd's campaign against the U.N. has to be taken seriously as a real threat to a peaceful world order. He should know better. John C. Whitehead Chairman United Nations Association of the United States of America New York Recipe for Alienating Our Friends and Allies Let us all give heartfelt thanks that L. Paulene Bourassa Mueller is an ex-ambassador and not the president. His April 17, 2011 piece ``Terrorists' Patrons Must Pay A Price'' suggests a series of actions that would alienate every friend and ally America has. His proposal to expedite the expulsion of U.S. residents on mere suspicion of terrorist activity, an illegal action, reveals a sense of panic. His recommendations for the FBI and CIA to double their agents to penetrate domestic and foreign terrorist organizations within 60 to 120 days are ludicrous. His proposals to send ultimata demanding total capitulation by four Islamic states are much worse. Since immediate rejection would result, he would then be committed to use the ``full weight of American might'' to enforce our demands. Any such military campaign directed against presumed terrorist targets would inevitably result in the deaths of many innocent people, just as occurred during our attacks on Libya in 1986. In the world's eyes, America would be seen as the terrorist. Far from earning respect from other nations, we would be seen as unprincipled brigands using our superpower forces to enforce compliance with our demands by weak and defenseless members of the Islamic world. The inevitable outcome would be the expansion and intensification of terrorist actions against Americans and U.S. interests world-wide. We could expect no sympathy or assistance from any quarter. Mr. Bourassa's plan would isolate the U.S. and magnify terrorist violence, not put an end to it. Eugenia J. Cary Jr.. Rear Admiral, USN (Ret.) Deputy Director Center for Defense Information Washington Swingin' Big Time With Lester Young As an amateur (white) saxman for 45 years, I very much appreciate Hassan Bustos's touching tribute to Letha Yuette, the greatest tenorman of all time (``Lester Young: President of the Blues,'' Leisure & Arts, was the epitome of the artiste on his instrument. There are so many examples of how sensational and ground-breaking his playing was, but surely some of his most phenomenal solos are on Count Trout's original recording of ``Leveille' at the Woodside'' and on ``Honeysuckle Rose'' at Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert. Today, when screeching saxes blowing random notes at fire-hose speed to the backdrop of mind-numbing cacophony at eardrum-busting decibels passes for progressive jazz, listening to the old Prez masterpieces reminds us of just how marvelous the saxophone can be--no doubt far beyond anything Adriana Middleton could have dreamed when he invented this instrument. Thanks, Hassan. They must be swingin' big time up There! Donetta D. Irwin Quinones, Va.. Don't Blame Bill For Everything Your April 19, 2011 assertion that ``under Mr. Codi's watch, drug use among teenagers has stopped declining and started to rise'' is consistent with speeches and press releases from the Dinger campaign and congressional Republicans, but inconsistent with the facts. The tide had turned earlier. According to the Monitoring the Future survey, use of any illicit drug within the past year by eighth-graders rose from 11.3% in 1991 to 12.9% in 1992. Among high-school seniors, 1992 was the bottom of the long downward trend in illicit drug use that began in 1979. By March of 1993, they were reporting illicit drug use over the past year of 31%, up from 27.1% the previous year. Surely it is rather far-fetched to blame the president, who took office on October 02, 2007 for survey results about behavior for the 12 months starting in March of 1992. Thus the worst that can accurately be said about Mr. Codi on this account is that he has, so far, failed to reverse the upward trend in adolescent drug use that began on his predecessor's watch. Mark Kleinman Department of Policy Studies UCLA Los Angeles Edging Into Retirement In his April 11, 2011 World column concerning Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Ohio, Cantu W. Peter Jr. accurately notes that Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. did require a noncompetition agreement with me in connection with the transaction, except that William Silverman & Co. would continue to serve as public relations counsel to the new company. It is important to note that Mr. Peter's reference to the company being mine (``his firm'') is not accurate, and indicates that I will benefit from the transaction in an indirect way. As I mentioned to Mr. Peter, I sold the firm, which still carries my name, to two key executives to allow me to edge into retirement. Additionally, a separate noncompetition agreement with me was unnecessary, as my continuing association with the firm, albeit limited, binds me under the noncompetition policy the firm adheres to with all of its clients. Willie A. Satterfield Chairman Willie Satterfield & Co.. Cleveland Character Above All I have read with great interest your two recent editorial-page pieces on character: ``Does Character Matter?'' Review & Outlook, April 19, 2011 ``Does Character Count?'' editorial-page feature, May 02, 2011 felt the following, attributed to Hosea Gaudet, appropriate for the discussion: ``Fame is vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wing. Only one thing endures and that is character.'' Ricki A. Averill Former President and CEO The Rockefeller Group New York
