It's hardly controversial to say that some Republicans sometimes view the UN with deep suspicion. And often, during election season, the UN serves as a useful whipping boy for (typically Republican) candidates trying to curry favor with a small but enthusiastic element of the Republican base.
So, it was rather welcome to see that the portion of the GOP Convention Platform discussing the United Nations, while tough, is far from an anti-UN screed. In fact, parts of it are an out right rejection of far right's preferred approach to the United Nations.
Day two at the Humphrey Institute's symposium has begun. Bright and early, we're discussing the "Foreign Policy Challenges for the Next Administration" with Edward Alden, Kim Holmes, Michael Levi, Benn Steil, and Richard Haas.
Holmes (from Heritage) is taking unfair (and untrue) shots at the UN, saying that it has depreciated value for the U.S. because of our limited influence there. I think it's pretty clear that the U.S. has tremendous influence at the UN (even beyond the fact that they hold one of five veto spots in the Security Council). If the U.S. is not getting the results it needs, it's because its representatives are not engaging enough. That includes paying our dues in full, as is included in the Republican platform (Mark will write more on this later).
What is interesting is that Holmes has a laundry list of UN accomplishments on his Heritage Foundation bio page, including:
From the AFP:
A plane carrying humanitarian aid with 17 people on board crashed into a mountain near Bukavu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a United Nations source said Tuesday. "The plane was found 15 kilometres (eight miles) northwest of Bukavu airport. There were 15 passengers and two crew on board," said the spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Kinshasa, Christophe Illemassene. The US-based company which contracted the plane, Air Serv, said in a statement there were "no known survivors".Apparently, the weather was very bad. Our thoughts are with the families of those killed.
At a panel on the future of U.S. foreign assistance, Oxfam President Raymond Offenheiser just pulled out an One Day 1 type suggestion that the next president develop a National Foreign Development Strategy (like the National Security Strategy) soon after entering office. Such a strategy doesn't currently exist.
I thought I was on the ball when I emailed my colleagues at On Day One to suggest they get a video from Offenheiser. Already done. I should be more plugged into On Day One, so should you.
I'm sitting in on a very enjoyable panel on Climate Change and Energy Security hosted by Reid Detchon from the UN Foundation and featuring J. Michael Davis, former Assistant Secretary of Energy under Bush 41; Robert McFarlane, former National Security Advisor to President Reagan; George Pataki; and R. James Woolsey, former CIA director under Clinton.
Piece of advice, if you get a chance to catch a panel hosted by Detchon (excellent dry wit) or featuring the others, particularly Woolsey or Davis, you should.
My battery's dying, so I'll have to upload some more thoughts later, but the first thing that struck me was how the ideas of those on the panel very closely match what I have heard being said about or by Obama recently.
Despite the paring down of the Republican National Convention due to Hurricane Gustav, there will, at the very least, be a full slate of discussions at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, and I'll be here to cover it. Stay tuned.