Turning to the U.N., Again

Many of the Bush "core" take great pleasure in excoriating the United Nations, and some of the pummeling is no doubt deserved, but in the realm of peace and security (chapters six and seven of the Charter) the UN often has an important role to play. Often the Bush administration has adopted thoroughly disingenuous rhetoric on the UN: For instance, it is common to hear charges that the Security Council failed to act since the SC is not more than the sum of the states. One of the peace and security missions that especially benefits the U.S. is peacekeeping. Yet, the U.S. is the major deadbeat when it comes to paying the bills for peacekeeping missions. As Holbrooke notes in the Washington Post, the U.S. is rediscovering the U.N. and how it might play a role in an exit strategy from Iraq. Several things will be interesting to watch as the U.S. courts UN engagement. One is whether Bolton, the willfully destructive U.S. ambassador, will toe the line. A second is whether the Congress coughs up some of the U.S. arrears. A third is whether the U.S. can convince the UN to return in force to Baghdad.
Turning to the U.N., Again