The UN Security Council is expected to vote on stronger sanctions against North Korea as punishment for its nuclear tests and missile launches, according to the Voice of America. The vote is expected by the end of this week. These new sanctions will allow foreign nations to inspect ships heading to and from North Korea pending approval from the nation whose flag the ship is flying. Use of force was not authorized for ships that refuse inspections, according to the Associated Press.
For this, the UN took, two weeks of “intensive negotiations among the five permanent council members,” plus Japan and South Korea.
I was unable to find any information on which countries will conduct the inspections. Therefore, I feel safe making the assumption that the U.S. Navy will have to play a disproportionately large role or the inspections won’t happen. I was able to easily find a well placed note in the AP’s report pointing out that past sanctions have had little effect on curtailing North Korea’s nuclear program.
It is long past time that the United States cease its use of the UN as crutch for actions we don’t want to take. The UN has neither the ability nor anything close to the moral authority (see Iraq oil for food, child prostitution and slavery scandal, etc) to act as the world’s police force, at least not in any form that would be acceptable to civilized, Western nations. The UN is a place to talk, negotiate, exchange ideas, and build stronger relationships, all badly needed in our modern world. The UN is not a capable of enforcement.
The U.S. needs to stand apart from and above the other nations of the world. We need take enforcement out of the UN’s hands so the efforts can not be so weakened as to be meaningless. We need new, NATO like organizations with nations that possess the courage and determination to act. That courage and determination will bring peace to more conflicts than UN sanctions can ever hope to bring about.
Our continued failure to act on North Korea and Iran, along with failures in Darfur, Myanmar, and other hotspots around the world should be enough evidence that the UN is like a termite infested crutch. We are leaning on that crutch too much and I hope it doesn’t break at a dangerous time.
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I share your frustration, but you’re basing your comments on the presumption that we’re always right. Maybe it’s not always a bad thing to have to convince others through a political process that a particular action should be taken. Why are democratic ideals crucial to our internal politics and easily discarded in world poliltics?
You are a fool. WE lean on the UN for actions we do not want to take????
We cant go to the bathroom without being abused if we do not consult the UN. The truth is the world WANTS us to take take care of business while
condeming us publically. You can not have it both ways. We can either TCB
or beg the UN everytime
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