Administration of the Global Test
Students, put down your pencils. Belmont Club writes:
The Fourth Infantry Division, at that time the most modern armored force in the Army, was not absent due to the "Pig-headedness? Ignorance? Hubris?" of Donald Rumsfeld. It was missing directly as a result of the machinations of those supposed to administer Kerry's Global Test to America in the United Nations, who were large part responsible for closing Turkey to the United States. To continue Sullivan's quote: "Why doesn't Edwards bring that up directly tonight with Cheney?" Cheney should. And to Sullivan's question: "since it was so obvious so soon, why didn't the administration do anything to change that policy once its failings had become so glaring?" one might answer that it did, re-embarking the 4ID and sailing it a total of 1/5th of the way around the world into congested ports which had never planned to receive them, before marching it 600 kilometers up to Baghdad.
The point being made here is that the UN actually acts as an inhibitor to actions we might need to take abroad to protect our interests by adding both another layer of delaying debate and providing countries we might need to pressure with an extra strike. In a UN free world, we would be able to approach countries like Turkey and bargain directly with them for access to, in this case, bases from which to attack Iraq. The US would be able to use the carrot and the stick to pressure Turkey into giving us what we need. For those who are opposed to US intervention around the world, the UN acts as a the perfect check on our strength by giving weaker countries like Turkey the ability to point to the UN and say, "We won't give you anything unless everyone else agrees to allow it." We all know that UN is a cesspool of corruption. We also know that all the countries that comprise the Security Council at any given moment aren't allies of the US. At least three on the permanent council (France, Russia, China) are usually in direct opposition to anything we do. Giving this circus the ability to bestow legitimacy on our actions abroad materially weakens our ability to defend our shores and our overseas interests. It will be tough to pass a Global Test that is permanently stacked against us.
Kerry's grand plans for harmonious global action have already been rebuffed (see here and here) even before he steps into the presidency. If this test is to determine our ability to act in the future, I hope your vision of the American future is not one of betterment and eternal hope, but of the mediocrity typical of the nations who stand in the path of progress.
The Fourth Infantry Division, at that time the most modern armored force in the Army, was not absent due to the "Pig-headedness? Ignorance? Hubris?" of Donald Rumsfeld. It was missing directly as a result of the machinations of those supposed to administer Kerry's Global Test to America in the United Nations, who were large part responsible for closing Turkey to the United States. To continue Sullivan's quote: "Why doesn't Edwards bring that up directly tonight with Cheney?" Cheney should. And to Sullivan's question: "since it was so obvious so soon, why didn't the administration do anything to change that policy once its failings had become so glaring?" one might answer that it did, re-embarking the 4ID and sailing it a total of 1/5th of the way around the world into congested ports which had never planned to receive them, before marching it 600 kilometers up to Baghdad.
The point being made here is that the UN actually acts as an inhibitor to actions we might need to take abroad to protect our interests by adding both another layer of delaying debate and providing countries we might need to pressure with an extra strike. In a UN free world, we would be able to approach countries like Turkey and bargain directly with them for access to, in this case, bases from which to attack Iraq. The US would be able to use the carrot and the stick to pressure Turkey into giving us what we need. For those who are opposed to US intervention around the world, the UN acts as a the perfect check on our strength by giving weaker countries like Turkey the ability to point to the UN and say, "We won't give you anything unless everyone else agrees to allow it." We all know that UN is a cesspool of corruption. We also know that all the countries that comprise the Security Council at any given moment aren't allies of the US. At least three on the permanent council (France, Russia, China) are usually in direct opposition to anything we do. Giving this circus the ability to bestow legitimacy on our actions abroad materially weakens our ability to defend our shores and our overseas interests. It will be tough to pass a Global Test that is permanently stacked against us.
Kerry's grand plans for harmonious global action have already been rebuffed (see here and here) even before he steps into the presidency. If this test is to determine our ability to act in the future, I hope your vision of the American future is not one of betterment and eternal hope, but of the mediocrity typical of the nations who stand in the path of progress.
posted by Mike C | 10:23 AM
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