Oppose the Law of the Sea Treaty!

Action Alert

Oppose the Law of the Sea Treaty!

Sat Jun 9, 2007 23:57

Action Alert
Oppose the Law of the Sea Treaty!
http://capwiz.com/jbs/issues/alert/?alertid=9848421

President George W. Bush is expected to announce any day now that he will promote the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which President Ronald Reagan rejected in 1982. Bush's National Security Adviser, Stephen Hadley, has asked Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden to secure Senate ratification "as early as possible." To defuse expected opposition, the Bush administration has been aggressively lobbying prominent conservatives at the White House.

The Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) entered into force in 1994 and has been ratified by 153 countries. The treaty created the International Seabed Authority, giving it complete jurisdiction over the oceans and everything in them, including the ocean floor with all its resources, along with the power to regulate 70 percent of the world's surface.

If the United States ratifies LOST, then we would have the same vote in the International Seabed Authority as Cuba, which would represent a surrender of U.S. sovereignty, independence of action, and potential wealth.

Even worse, the threat gives the International Seabed Authority the power to levy international taxes, under the guise of “assessments,” “fees,” “permits,” “payments,” or “contributions.” Ultimately, this taxing power would force U.S. corporations to pay billions of dollars to the International Seabed Authority, whose bureaucrats could then transfer U.S. wealth to so-called “developing countries,” which all too often are socialist, anti-American nations ruled by corrupt dictators. Of course, the treaty claims that this is for "the benefit of mankind as a whole."

LOST gives the International Seabed Authority the power to regulate ocean research and exploration, and to impose quotas for deep-sea mining and oil production, or to deny access to such resources altogether, many of which the United States needs for national defense and other important industries.

The International Seabed Authority could require the United States to share intelligence, technology and even military information. LOST could impose restrictions on intelligence-gathering by U.S. submarines, activities that are essential to national defense.

The treaty also created the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, with the power to judge all disputes and enforce its decisions. There is no guarantee that the United States would have even one judge on this 21-member international court, and it is reasonable to assume that there would be an inherent bias against the United States by the anti-American countries whose representatives would be on the tribunal. And no appeals are allowed.

Amazingly, administration lobbyists claim that the original problems with the treaty have been fixed. And Bush argues that the Navy supports the treaty. Of course it does; the Navy is not going to oppose their commander in chief's position! The notion that the U.S. Navy should need approval from U.N. bureaucrats, in order to operate on international waters, is absurd on its face.

It is dangerous to national security for the Bush administration to promote LOST. Now that he’s a lame duck, President Bush is ignoring his supporters, and pushing the agenda of those who are determined to eradicate our sovereignty and integrate the United States into his father’s vision of a New World Order.

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The Law of the Sea Treaty
The Bush Administration has expressed support for ratification of the Treaty. However, many of former President Reagan's original objections still hold true ...
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TOPIC: Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST)
Collection of articles and news items on Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST).
http://www.eagleforum.org/topics/LOST/

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