Pittsburgh Trib-Review

Dateline D.C. - Sunday, May 13, 2001

Clinton leftovers contribute to U.S. humiliation at U.N.

WASHINGTON - There were two happenings some 53 years ago that have affected this country. Looking at recent events, one was a comment with almost the sense of premonition from a most unlikely prophet. The improbable seer who was the chronicler of the Beat Generation, Jack Kerouac, wrote, ``I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion.''

The other noted event of the time was a massive, successful effort made by the United States to form the United Nations Human Rights Commission - of which, until a few days ago, this country was a proud, active and influential member.

Through a combination of indifference, incompetence and sabotage by Clinton ``hold-overs'' to betray President George Bush, the United States sustained stinging defeats at the United Nations. First, we were voted off the Human Rights Commission. A few days later, the same cabal, this time led by delegates from Mexico, Nigeria and Nicaragua, voted this country off the international drug-monitoring agency.

Two weeks ago, before these sneak attacks initiated by France and Sweden, this column wrote about the threat and danger to President Bush from Clintonistas remaining in important positions where they had power to set or sabotage policy. Picking up this theme, four days later, The Washington Times published an Op-Ed article by M.D.B. Carlisle and Daniel Oliver, both officials under President Reagan, titled ``Clean House at the U.N.''

Among the Clinton leftovers in the United Nations are Undersecretary-general Joseph Connor, responsible for U.N. administration and manpower; and Assistant Secretary-general for External Relations Gillian Sorensen, Kofi Annan's politically important glad-hander. Gilly is not only a left-wing Democrat but also the wife of the flawed Ted Sorensen, one of the guilty men of President Kennedy's Bay of Pigs debacle. (Ted Sorensen later was nominated by the great Jimmy Carter as director of Central Intelligence. Ted, showing a sudden display of good sense, withdrew from the proceedings at the last possible moment - in the Senate as his confirmation hearing was about to convene. But that's a story only he, some brave Boston Hospital staff and a handful of others know fully.

At the U.S. Mission to the United Nations are Sen. John Kerry's sister, Peggy; Ambassador Betty King, a Clinton person from his days in Arkansas, and Sue Shearhouse, who takes care of budget and resources. Still it continues. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed, since President Bush took office in January and without any consultation with Washington, two special advisers to his office from the Clinton stable. They are Professor Michael Doyle from Princeton and Michael Sheehan, straight from Madeleine Albright's entourage.

Recently, National Security Adviser Dr. Condoleezza Rice, interviewed on the ``Fox News Sunday'' program, spoke the diplomatic truth - but only part of it! She told Fox News, ``Obviously, the United States has been too strong on the human rights agenda. I suspect that this was a backlash of those who don't like being judged ... it will be easier now for human rights abusers to escape scrutiny.''

Washington is only a three-hour train ride from New York; and a visit to Turtle Bay (the historic name for the place occupied by the U.N. Secretariat in Manhattan), obviously was necessary. At the U.N., the gossip was that the U.N.'s Clintonistas kept Dr. Rice in the dark about the plot to eliminate the United States from the Human Rights Commission. Reportedly, they knew for at least 10 days before the vote that France, Sweden, China, Cuba and Russia were spending money and lobbying hard against America. Then on the Sunday before the actual vote, Dr. Rice was told.

There was no U.S. ambassador to the U.N. to take action. John Negroponte, a skilled former career diplomat, has been named to that post; but he has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. As those with political savvy would expect, the Clinton remnants were away from their desks and would have done little to change the situation. We were told that the president was not informed before the vote; so Mr. Bush was blind-sided once again!

The secretary of state's office mildly commented that it was ``greatly disappointed in the outcome of the vote'' - a good line if they were competing. Well, fancy that for the stiff upper lip award of the month! That was followed by a really tough statement by Richard Boucher, Colin Powell's man, that ``in future campaigns we will take this experience into account and modify our behavior accordingly.'' Hey, bully for him and the Secretary!

Our foes at the U.N. were delighted at the humiliation of the United States. It was particularly bitter listening to the self-serving remarks of Cubans and Chinese joining with Iraqis and Iranians in their gloating - more especially as Sudan, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Togo were voted onto the Human Rights Commission. There they will be joining Algeria, China, Libya, Syria, and Vietnam who already are members. As Joanna Weschler of Human Rights Watch (certainly no conservative group) said, ``This is a rogues' gallery of human rights abusers.''

Why and how did this happen? Our enemies at the United Nations are neither stupid nor ill-informed. For more than eight years, they have been dealing with Bill Clinton's friends and appointees. They know their weaknesses. By and large, these ingrates, who have been taking America's money for more than 50 years, had expected Al Gore to become president. Being wrong, they feel able to express a near insane dislike of our president.

Among the ``lesser breeds,'' as good old Rudyard Kipling would have characterized the non-Western world a century ago, President Bush is regarded as an incredibly rich, brutal ``execute them now, let's talk about it later'' man, who has canceled their much loved Kyoto (global warming) Treaty. Even worse, he refuses to pay a billion dollars in dues at the United Nations and refused to sign U.S.-weakening treaties. Our president's main desire, so these fools say, is to start a global arms race by defending America against nuclear weapons and preventing China from overrunning the Pacific from Malaysia through the Philippines to Australia and New Zealand.

Then, we were told, dozens of representatives, orchestrated by France with money provided by China, Libya, Iran, Iraq and Sweden, began their lobbying. How was it done? Bribery! Promises of immediate aid in exchange for an anti-American vote were made ranging from providing a new sports stadium and 5,000 pairs of athletic shoes through new railway lines and locomotives to a new helicopter fleet through water treatment plants! Thus, more than half of the 48 countries that usually vote for the United States were bought off and the State Department claims that ``it didn't know!''

Jeanne Kirkpatrick, who served Ronald Reagan well as a great former U.N. ambassador, said that our failure to place a Bush diplomat in her old post had created the problem. ``Somebody wasn't watching the store,'' Ambassador Kirkpatrick said. ``Without the leadership there is an atmosphere in which no one is responsible.''

That is almost right; but someone was ``watching the store.'' Unfortunately, it was our enemies who realized that they could pull off a ``stealth'' victory and that the defeat of President Bush would resound around the world.

Just let us wait until sanctions on U.S. goods and travel are put into place because we have not been nice to Fidel Castro, or we prevented Saddam Hussein from killing off a few score more of Kurdish tribesmen. And, just wait for ``Plan Colombia'' to be declared a war crime by the United States.

But, we can't wait and we must not be conciliatory. First of all, whatever would happen to the United Nations headquarters if it had to pay real estate taxes for that property in Manhattan? Names of countries who voted against us have to be publicized, and they must learn that American aid has come to an end as of May 4, 2001. At the U.N., Americans working for the Secretary-General without the customary agreement of our president should be isolated and ignored. Finally, there must be a long-overdue house scrubbing at the U.S. Mission to remove all traces of the Clinton regime. John Negroponte should be installed as expeditiously as possible, and no one from the countries that voted against the United States must appear on diplomatic cocktail or dinner guest lists! As for France, the advice of a friendly British diplomat should be taken. ``Tell the Frogs,'' he said, ``that their entire new wine crop tastes as if it had been processed through an old tom cat's bladder!''

However, this is not the time for bad jokes. President Bush and the United States must not allow themselves to be defeated in an international environment. The battle flag should be run up the mast, and the words of John Paul Jones remembered. When his ship, the Bon Homme Richard, was on fire and sinking in a battle during the War of Independence, the captain of a British warship called on Jones to surrender. The response was as simple as it was effective. ``Sir, I have not yet begun to fight.'' Fight he did, and proceeded to capture two British warships and win a great victory.

So let the fight of 2001 begin and let us fight to win!

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2001