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The Global Citizen: Israel
Here's a few excerpts from my latest blog at Care 2 entitled, "United States' UN-Wise UNESCO Policy," which discusses two U.S. laws that halt contributions to U.N. agencies that accept Palestinian membership. These laws forced the United States to stop funding the United Nations Education, Science, and Cultural Organization last week when the organization's members voted to accept Palestinian membership.
"The big question to answer is who benefits and loses from maintaining this policy. The biggest winners are people who use the Middle East conflict as a platform to spew anti-U.N. views and promote an isolationist agenda for the United States. The biggest loser isn't the Palestinians or Israelis, or even the U.N. It's the United States."
"UNESCO promotes freedom of expression, one of America's core values. It advocates for freedom of the press and the promotion of an independent media around the globe. It manages a tsunami warning system in the Pacific, which warned Californians of possible aftershocks from Japan's earthquake last March. The organization assists the United States in its transitions out of Iraq and Afghanistan, by preparing communities and governments for the withdrawal of U.S. forces.
American jobs have been saved and grown by UNESCO's efforts to connect U.S. companies like Cisco, Apple, Microsoft, and Proctor & Gamble to emerging tech markets in developing countries."
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced an extreme bill, H.R. 2829, that holds U.N. funding, as well as U.S. leadership, prestige, and influence at the U.N., hostage if her outrageous demands aren't met. Ros-Lehtinen is willing to sacrifice the benefits of U.S. leadership at the U.N. right at a time when the U.S. is successfully promoting its national security and foreign policy priorities on the world stage.
This is not the first time Rep. Ros-Lehtinen has introduced extreme anti-U.N. legislation. But this time she has strategically timed the debate on the bill to occur in September during the U.N. General Assembly's vote on the recognition of Palestine. Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen is blatantly attempting to hijack Americans' support for Israel in the hopes of derailing the United States' relationship with the U.N. She is misusing and distorting the high emotions around the Palestine vote to promote her longstanding and extreme anti-U.N. agenda.
Nuclear proliferation equates to regional instability and insecurity. We have seen destabilizing situations. Pakistan- India, Iran-Middle East, and the fear of loose fissile material. It's about time the U.S. change its rhetoric in regard to nuclear proliferation. Unlike the past administration, this administration does not shun the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA has just arrived in Iran to conduct inspections, and the U.S. is finally holding high level talks with Iran on their nuclear program.
On September 15th, during the ongoing 12th session of the Human Rights Council, the U.N. Fact- Finding Mission on the conflict in Gaza, between December 27, 2008 and January 18, 2009, presented its report. The mission was led by Justice Richard Goldstone, former judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, and former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
On June 8th 2009, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted a panel discussion on President Obama and the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.
"We're talking about a clear message to Iran -- Israel has the right to self-defense --and that includes offensive operations against WMD facilities that pose a threat to Israel. The United States would justify such attacks." -- John Bolton
I guess it's not at all surprising that Bolton doesn't agree with this statement from retired Gen. John Abizaid: "I believe that we have the power to deter Iran, should it become nuclear."
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