laura wilbert
The U.N. and Babylon
Tue Jan 13 02:38:36 2004
64.140.158.41

source:
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/headlines/headlines.asp?CatID=2&ArticleID=894

The U.N. and Babylon


The UN Security Council imposes sanctions on states that don’t observe its resolutions, but the renegade states aren’t worried; there are a myriad of ways to circumvent the sanctions. Representatives of the 191 member states of the UN General Assembly give lofty speeches but know they’ll accomplish little or nothing. When Israel’s ambassador steps up to the podium, many of the delegates leave the hall; they have no interest in listening to the “other side.”

After World War I, in which some 10 million lives were lost, the nations of the world created an international body to ensure world peace. In 1920, 32 member states founded the League of Nations. In 1926, Germany was accepted into the League, but when Hitler rose to power in 1933, Germany withdrew, clearing the way for his dictatorship and the proliferation of his war machine. The League of Nations proved to be a paper tiger that could not prevent World War II, which cost more than 55 million lives.

On June 26, 1945, in San Francisco, 51nations came together to create the United Nations as the successor of the League of Nations. In an attempt to address the League’s failure, the UN was given more authority. But it’s clear that the UN is also a paper tiger: 21of the 191 member nations are at war, and the UN is unable to do anything to end the hostilities. The United States’ unilateral initiative to launch the Iraq war without a UN mandate is the most recent example of the UN’s impotence.

Today, the nations of the world want to empower the UN by reorganizing it. No longer would it function merely as an observer; it would become a global police force, imposing order militarily. UN headquarters sit on 4.5 acres in Manhattan. Its 23,000 employees work in crowded conditions. But there’s little possibility for expansion because the US has been less than enamored with the UN for years and would probably like nothing better than for it to leave New York.

Triggered by the Iraq War, informed sources say that the international Quartet of world powers (the US, UN, European Union and Russia) has drafted a proposal to transfer the seat of the United Nations to Baghdad (ancient Babel or Babylon)! The move would relieve the space constraints of the New York headquarters, while also freeing it from the physical jurisdiction of the US. Though it’s only a draft of the Quartet, plans appear to be in the works to establish a third and perhaps final worldwide organization.


more in israel today from December 2003