Should the US pull out of the UN? Yes, No why do you think so?

[Dahir]

I think the US should pull out, it has far more power than the UN, so the UN almost serves as just a hollow shell to stand and look good for the world.

The US operates with freewill because it has such a large stake in the UN, but the US tries to confront the UN first before making any moves...just cut out the middle man (UN) and deal one-to-one, as Woodrow suggested.

And the UN peacekeeping forces are a bunch of crock. The UN is only good for preventing hunger, child abuse, and small domestic-type international issues. The UN is a terrible police force, especially that many armies and guerilla groups are more powerful than any "peaceforce."

My 2 Cents.

 

[Woodrow]

There is a place for the UN and it does have much potential for doing good in the world. However, it is ineffective if it is dominated by any one nation or any one ideology. This is how the US has become a hinderance to the potential of the UN. Unintentional, just out of pure size and massive wealth the US has become the dominate Nation in the UN and our presense can be intimidating to the smaller countries. Keep in mind at least half of the member nations are smaller than the State of Texas.

Now on the other hand the UN has become detrimental to the US. It has placed the US into the posistion of being the worlds unwelcomed peacekeeper. What we American's view as being in the service of Peace is usually seen as being American agression or dominence through power. We end up needlesly loosing American lives, spend more money than we can afford. Here in the States many people have grown critical of our spending more to help other nations than we spend to assist our own impoverished citizens. Ovrerall the UN is costly to us, it deprives our own needy and it keeps us in constant jeopardy of attack by those who perceive us as enemies.

 

[Islamicboy]

Hezbollaah is paying rent for the families that lost there houses because of israel and also rebuilding. America has stolen the lands of poor new orlean people and they have started to build big business i.e. casinos etc. Hezbollah is a group who is nothing comparing to united states yet they are more loyal to there civilians then america. So if American government cant even be loyal to there own citizen how can they be trusted over seas or in other nations? Where did all the money saudi arabia and kuwait gave for rebuilding new orleans go? O yeah the same countries did not give as much to the poor nations that were hit by tusanami. Interesting how the rich countries are only willing to open up to other rich countries. United States pulling out of UN will do anything as if they were part of UN. There would not be much difference or absoluty no difference if america were to leave UN. People dont hate america because of UN they hate america because of there policies around the world.

 

[Keltoi]

I think a U.N. without U.S. backing would lose any power it might have. Most countries know that the only bite involved with the U.N's bark is the United States. True, the U.N. is good at international issues like sex slavery, election corruption, etc, but on the big issues like nuclear proliferation and rogue regimes, it is a confusing mess of conflicting points of view. The U.N. has become what those opposed to the League of Nations feared such an organization would be, which is a pointless mess of politics and greed, with the U.S. footing the bill. The more I think about this issue the more I think I should have voted yes. Oh well.

 

[Woodrow]

I think a U.N. without U.S. backing would lose any power it might have. Most countries know that the only bite involved with the U.N's bark is the United States. True, the U.N. is good at international issues like sex slavery, election corruption, etc, but on the big issues like nuclear proliferation and rogue regimes, it is a confusing mess of conflicting points of view. The U.N. has become what those opposed to the League of Nations feared such an organization would be, which is a pointless mess of politics and greed, with the U.S. footing the bill. The more I think about this issue the more I think I should have voted yes. Oh well.

Doing the very same errors of the "league of Nations" Just took us longer to do them.

 

[north_malaysian]

I want a UN without VETO POWERS!!!

 

[Hashim_507]

Does anybody remember the league of nations?

 

[Woodrow]

Does anybody remember the league of nations?

Semi remember. It went belly up not too many years before I was born. But, when the UN was first being considered it was a very popular topic in the news and the errors that caused it to fail.


EDIT: I just remembered I was about 6 years old when it belly flopped

 

[Hashim_507]

league of nations is better than un, because u.s have no major power on them. LON is against all wars, example if any country attacks other country without no reason. LON constitution states the first attackers should surrender or all LON members will invade that country in order to bring peace.LON headquarters are all located in europe, U.S have no major influence or power on LON. But the U.S rejected the idea during those era, they never join it. President Woodrow Wilson wanted the u.s to join LON, but the congress overpower his decisions.

 

[Woodrow]

league of nations is better than un, because u.s have no major power on them. LON is against all wars, example if any country attacks other country without no reason. LON constitution states the first attackers should surrender or all LON members will invade that country in order to bring peace.LON headquarters are all located in europe, U.S have no major influence or power on LON. But the U.S rejected the idea during those era, they never join it. President Woodrow Wilson wanted the u.s to join LON, but the congress overpower his decisions.

Actually the UN is based upon the LON. Many of the committees were transfered from the LON to the UN. The failure of the LON at that time was believed to be because they had not allowed any method for the LON to enforce any resolutions. It did not have the authority to call up any military involvement.

Between 1920 and 1946, a total of 63 countries became members of the League of Nations. The Covenant forming the League of Nations was included in the Treaty of Versailles and came into force on 10 January 1920. The League of Nations was dissolved on 18 April 1946, when its assets and responsibilities were transferred to the United Nations.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations_members

 

[Hashim_507]

Woodrow: Before ww2 the State of Isreal was not created, the LON did not achieved is because the zionist movement was uprising against. LON did want to be involve with the zionist method, thats in my opinion.

Early Zionist initiatives
In 1883, Nathan Birnbaum, nineteen years old, founded Kadimah, the first Jewish Students Association in Vienna. In 1884 the first issue of Selbstemanzipation or Self Emancipation appeared, completely made by Nathan Birnbaum himself.

Together with Nathan Birnbaum, Herzl planned the first Zionist Congress in Basel. During the congress, the following agreement was reached:

Zionism seeks to establish a home for the Jewish people in Eretz-Israel secured under public law. The Congress contemplates the following means to the attainment of this end:

The promotion by appropriate means of the settlement in Eretz-Israel of Jewish farmers, artisans, and manufacturers.
The organization and uniting of the whole of Jewry by means of appropriate institutions, both local and international, in accordance with the laws of each country.
The strengthening and fostering of Jewish national sentiment and national consciousness.
Preparatory steps toward obtaining the consent of governments, where necessary, in order to reach the goals of Zionism.
After the First Zionist Congress, the World Zionist Organization met every year first four years, later they gathered every second year till the Second World War. After the war the Congress met every four years until present time.

The WZO's initial strategy was to obtain permission of the Ottoman Sultan Abd-ul-Hamid II to allow systematic Jewish settlement in Palestine. The good offices of the German Emperor, Wilhelm II, were sought, but nothing came of this. Instead the WZO pursued a strategy of building a homeland through persistent small-scale immigration, and the founding of such bodies as the Jewish National Fund in 1901 and the Anglo-Palestine Bank in 1903.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionist#Early_Zionist_initiatives

 

[Woodrow]

Woodrow: Before ww2 the State of Isreal was created, the LON did not achieved is because the zionist movement was uprising against. LON did want to be involve with the zionist method, thats in my opinion.

Actually the UN was what the LON became. Although I refered to it as the LON belly flopping it was more of a exapnsion of the same organization. All of the assets and powers of the LON were transfered over to the Newly formed UN. The LON did not exactly cease to exist it became the UN

The forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations, an organization conceived in similar circumstances during the first World War, and established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles "to promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security." The International Labour Organization was also created under the Treaty of Versailles as an affiliated agency of the League. The League of Nations ceased its activities after failing to prevent the Second World War.

In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter. Those delegates deliberated on the basis of proposals worked out by the representatives of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States at Dumbarton Oaks, United States in August-October 1944. The Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of the 50 countries. Poland, which was not represented at the Conference, signed it later and became one of the original 51 Member States.

The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when the Charter had been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and by a majority of other signatories. United Nations Day is celebrated on 24 October each year.

source: http://www.un.org/aboutun/history.htm


Israel did not become a Nation until 1947, although the Zionist movemnt did start many years earlier it was not until after WW2 that there was any serious consideration by any nations to think of forming Israel. Remember from the 1920's till the end of WW2 the vast majority of the worlds Jews were in Nazi controlled countries and had virtualy no world influence at that time. The Zionist movement did not gain any world wide visibility until after WW2

 

[Keltoi]

Hypothetically, if the U.N. is here to stay, perhaps it might be of benefit to consider improvements and solutions to the idea of an international world body. Should the U.N. have its own military force? This idea would be probably be widely shot down by members in the security council, who by and large are interested in their own military strength and capability.
Then there is the issue of veto power. The permanent members never seem to agree on anything, and this causes many world problems to grow and manifest themselves before any worthwhile action is taken. However, if there was no veto power, which country would be calling the shots? That is why veto power is so important. No one country can make the decisions.
It is a confusing mess. The possibility is there for great work to be done, but I'm actually starting to agree with Woodrow. The U.S. involvment with the U.N. hasn't been a benefit to either side. I just don't see what the alternative would be in terms of international relations and diplomacy. Leaving the U.N. would be more ammunition for those who consider the U.S. a "rogue state" in their unilateral endeavors.

 

[Woodrow]

I think it is very interesting to see who has been the Secretary Generals of the UN and the countries they were/are from:

1946-1952 Trygve Lie from Norway
1953-1961 Dag Hammarskjold from Sweden
1961-1971 U Thant from Myanmar (aka Burma)
1972-1981 Kurt Waldheim from Austria
1982-1991 Javier de Perez de Cuellar from Peru
1992-1996 Boutros Boutros-Ghali from Egypt
1997-present Kofi Anan from Ghana


The history of the building and the various locations of the UN headquarters is interesting.

An international territory
The site of UN Headquarters is owned by the United Nations. It is an international territory. No federal, state or local officer or official of the United States, whether administrative, judicial, military or police may enter UN Headquarters except with the consent of and under conditions agreed to by the Secretary-General of the Organization.

However, the United Nations is bound by an agreement with its host country to prevent its Headquarters from being used as a refuge for persons who are avoiding arrest under the federal, state or local laws of the United States or who are required by the Government of the United States for extradition to another country or who are trying to avoid the servicing of a legal process.

On the site, the UN has its own fire fighting and security forces and its own post office branch, with special provision for UN stamps. The buildings were constructed in a manner agreeable to the City of New York, in terms of fire and safety, but not necessarily according to all city laws.

United Nations Headquarters was designed to serve four major groups: delegations, who now represent 192 Member States and who send more than 5,000 persons to New York each year for the annual sessions of the General Assembly; the Secretariat, numbering about 4,900 persons in New York out of a total of about 7,500 throughout the world; visitors, who average 700,000 yearly; and journalists, of whom more than over 3,600 are permanently accredited while over 10,000 are present during major meetings.

To accommodate those groups efficiently, there are facilities for each. The delegates have an entrance at the west side of the General Assembly building at 44th Street; and visitors have access to the complex through the north end of the Assembly building, between 45th and 46th Streets. The general public may visit public areas in the General Assembly building and may tour other areas with United Nations guides. The staff can enter through the Secretariat building at East 43rd Street as well as other entrances.

Selecting New York
The decision to locate the United Nations near New York City was made in London by the General Assembly at its first session on 14 February 1946, after offers and suggestions for permanent sites had been received from many parts of the world. On 10 December 1945, the Congress of the United States had unanimously resolved to invite the United Nations to establish its permanent home in that country.

Following selection of the United States, a special United Nations site committee looked over possible locations during the latter half of 1946 in such places as Philadelphia, Boston and San Francisco. While consideration had been given in the first place to areas north of New York City, crowded Manhattan had not been seriously studied. But a last-minute offer of $8.5 million for the purchase of the present site, by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., was accepted by a large majority of the General Assembly on 14 December 1946. New York City completed the site parcel by additional gifts of property.

The site chosen by the United Nations was a run-down area of slaughterhouses, light industry and a railroad barge landing. Trucks rumbled up and down First Avenue on one side, and automobiles sped along the East River Drive -- since renamed for Franklin Delano Roosevelt -- skirting the waterfront.


It all started in London …
Before its Headquarters in New York was ready, the United Nations continued its work in various temporary locations. Here is a list of venues where the main UN organs met in their earliest meetings:

General Assembly: First session (first part): London (February 10 - February 14, 1946); First session (second part): Flushing, New York (23 October - 15 December 1946)

Security Council: Beginning on 17 January 1946, the Council held its first 24 meetings in London. Later it moved to New York (Hunter College, Henry Hudson Hotel and Lake Success, the interim Headquarters of the United Nations.

Economic and Social Council: London (first session, 23 February 1946; later at Hunter College, New York)

Trusteeship Council: Lake Success, New York (1947)

International Court of Justice:The Hague (1946)

Planning the Headquarters
Once the site had been settled upon, the next task was to design the Headquarters for the world organization. Rather than hold an international competition, the United Nations decided that its new home should be the result of collaboration among eminent architects of many countries.

Wallace K. Harrison of the United States was appointed chief architect, with the title of Director of Planning. To assist him, a 10-member Board of Design Consultants was selected, composed of architects nominated by Governments.

The members of the Board were Nikolai D. Bassov (Soviet Union), Gaston Brunfaut (Belgium), Ernest Cormier (Canada), Charles E. Le Corbusier (France), Liang Seu-Cheng (China), Sven Markelius (Sweden), Oscar Niemayer (Brazil), Howard Robertson (United Kingdom), G. A. Soilleux (Australia) and Julio Vilamajo (Uruguay).

source: http://www.un.org/geninfo/faq/factsheets/FS23.HTM

The reason I point all this out is to show that the UN is basicaly an outgrowth of the LON and we should not be involved in it for the very same reasons we did not join the LON

 

[north_malaysian]

I think it is very interesting to see who has been the Secretary Generals of the UN and the countries they were/are from:

1946-1952 Trygve Lie from Norway
1953-1961 Dag Hammarskjold from Sweden
1961-1971 U Thant from Myanmar (aka Burma)
1972-1981 Kurt Waldheim from Austria
1982-1991 Javier de Perez de Cuellar from Peru
1992-1996 Boutros Boutros-Ghali from Egypt
1997-present Kofi Anan from Ghana

Next one will be from Asia....

 

[Woodrow]

Next one will be from Asia....

That seems possible. But I would not rule out Malaysa. I think it can be fairly safe to say that in my life time there will never be one from the USA or the UK. Although I would like to see the US pull out of the UN I don't think that will happen in my life time.

There are a sufficient number of Islamic nations in the UN that if they were to co-operate there very well could be a Secretary General from an Islamic Nation. The make up of the 192 member nations is interesting.

Member -- (Date of Admission)

Afghanistan -- (19 Nov. 1946)
Albania -- (14 Dec. 1955)
Algeria -- (8 Oct. 1962)
Andorra -- (28 July 1993)
Angola -- (1 Dec. 1976)
Antigua and Barbuda -- (11 Nov. 1981)
Argentina -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Armenia -- (2 Mar. 1992)
Australia -- (1 Nov. 1945)
Austria-- (14 Dec. 1955)
Azerbaijan -- (2 Mar. 1992)
Bahamas -- (18 Sep. 1973)
Bahrain -- (21 Sep. 1971)
Bangladesh -- (17 Sep. 1974)
Barbados -- (9 Dec. 1966)
Belarus -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Belgium -- (27 Dec. 1945)
Belize -- (25 Sep. 1981)
Benin -- (20 Sep. 1960)
Bhutan -- (21 Sep. 1971)
Bolivia -- (14 Nov. 1945)
Bosnia and Herzegovina -- (22 May 1992)
Botswana -- (17 Oct. 1966)
Brazil -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Brunei Darussalam -- (21 Sep. 1984)
Bulgaria -- (14 Dec. 1955)
Burkina Faso -- (20 Sep. 1960)
Burundi -- (18 Sep. 1962)
Cambodia -- (14 Dec. 1955)
Cameroon -- (20 Sep. 1960)
Canada -- (9 Nov. 1945)
Cape Verde -- (16 Sep. 1975)
Central African Republic -- (20 Sep. 1960)
Chad -- (20 Sep. 1960)
Chile -- (24 Oct. 1945)
China -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Colombia -- (5 Nov. 1945)
Comoros -- (12 Nov. 1975)
Congo (Republic of the) -- (20 Sep. 1960)
Costa Rica -- (2 Nov. 1945)
Côte d'Ivoire -- (20 Sep. 1960)
Croatia -- (22 May 1992)
Cuba -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Cyprus -- (20 Sep. 1960)
Czech Republic -- (19 Jan. 1993)
Democratic People's Republic of Korea -- (17 Sep. 1991)
Democratic Republic of the Congo -- (20 Sep. 1960)
Denmark -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Djibouti -- (20 Sep. 1977)
Dominica -- (18 Dec. 1978)
Dominican Republic -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Ecuador -- (21 Dec. 1945)
Egypt -- (24 Oct. 1945)
El Salvador -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Equatorial Guinea -- (12 Nov. 1968)
Eritrea -- (28 May 1993)
Estonia -- (17 Sep. 1991)
Ethiopia -- (13 Nov. 1945)
Fiji -- (13 Oct. 1970)
Finland -- (14 Dec. 1955)
France-- (24 Oct. 1945)
Gabon -- (20 Sep. 1960)
Gambia -- (21 Sep. 1965)
Georgia -- (31 July 1992)
Germany -- (18 Sep. 1973)
Ghana -- (8 Mar. 1957)
Greece -- (25 Oct. 1945)
Grenada -- (17 Sep. 1974)
Guatemala -- (21 Nov. 1945)
Guinea -- (12 Dec. 1958)
Guinea-Bissau -- (17 Sep. 1974)
Guyana -- (20 Sep. 1966)
Haiti -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Honduras -- (17 Dec. 1945)
Hungary -- (14 Dec. 1955)
Iceland -- (19 Nov. 1946)
India -- (30 Oct. 1945)
Indonesia -- (28 Sep. 1950)
Iran (Islamic Republic of) -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Iraq -- (21 Dec. 1945)
Ireland -- (14 Dec. 1955)
Israel -- (11 May 1949)
Italy -- (14 Dec. 1955)
Jamaica -- (18 Sep. 1962)
Japan -- (18 Dec. 1956)
Jordan -- (14 Dec. 1955)
Kazakhstan -- (2 Mar. 1992)
Kenya -- (16 Dec. 1963)
Kiribati -- (14 Sept. 1999)
Kuwait -- (14 May 1963)
Kyrgyzstan -- (2 Mar. 1992)
Lao People's Democratic Republic -- (14 Dec. 1955)
Latvia -- (17 Sep. 1991)
Lebanon -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Lesotho -- (17 Oct. 1966)
Liberia -- (2 Nov. 1945)
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya -- (14 Dec. 1955)
Liechtenstein-- (18 Sep. 1990)
Lithuania -- (17 Sep. 1991)
Luxembourg-- (24 Oct. 1945)
Madagascar -- (20 Sep. 1960)
Malawi -- (1 Dec. 1964)
Malaysia-- (17 Sep. 1957)
Maldives-- (21 Sep. 1965)
Mali -- (28 Sep. 1960)
Malta -- (1 Dec. 1964)
Marshall Islands -- (17 Sep. 1991)
Mauritania -- (27 Oct. 1961)
Mauritius -- (24 Apr. 1968)
Mexico -- (7 Nov. 1945)
Micronesia (Federated States of) -- (17 Sep. 1991)
Monaco -- (28 May 1993)
Mongolia -- (27 Oct. 1961)
Montenegro -- (28 June 2006)
Morocco -- (12 Nov. 1956)
Mozambique -- (16 Sep. 1975)
Myanmar -- (19 Apr. 1948)
Namibia -- (23 Apr. 1990)
Nauru -- (14 Sept. 1999)
Nepal -- (14 Dec. 1955)
Netherlands -- (10 Dec. 1945)
New Zealand -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Nicaragua -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Niger -- (20 Sep. 1960)
Nigeria -- (7 Oct. 1960)
Norway -- (27 Nov. 1945)
Oman -- (7 Oct. 1971)
Pakistan -- (30 Sep. 1947)
Palau -- (15 Dec. 1994)
Panama -- (13 Nov. 1945)
Papua New Guinea -- (10 Oct. 1975)
Paraguay -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Peru -- (31 Oct. 1945)
Philippines -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Poland -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Portugal -- (14 Dec. 1955)
Qatar -- (21 Sep. 1971)
Republic of Korea -- (17 Sep. 1991)
Republic of Moldova -- (2 Mar. 1992)
Romania -- (14 Dec. 1955)
Russian Federation -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Rwanda -- (18 Sep. 1962)
Saint Kitts and Nevis -- (23 Sep. 1983)
Saint Lucia -- (18 Sep. 1979)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines -- (16 Sep. 1980)
Samoa -- (15 Dec. 1976)
San Marino -- (2 Mar. 1992)
Sao Tome and Principe -- (16 Sep. 1975)
Saudi Arabia -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Senegal -- (28 Sep. 1960)
Serbia -- (1 Nov. 2000)
Seychelles -- (21 Sep. 1976)
Sierra Leone -- (27 Sep. 1961)
Singapore -- (21 Sep. 1965)
Slovakia -- (19 Jan. 1993)
Slovenia -- (22 May 1992)
Solomon Islands -- (19 Sep. 1978)
Somalia -- (20 Sep. 1960)
South Africa -- (7 Nov. 1945)
Spain -- (14 Dec. 1955)
Sri Lanka -- (14 Dec. 1955)
Sudan -- (12 Nov. 1956)
Suriname -- (4 Dec. 1975)
Swaziland -- (24 Sep. 1968)
Sweden -- (19 Nov. 1946)
Switzerland -- (10 Sep. 2002)
Syrian Arab Republic -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Tajikistan -- (2 Mar. 1992)
Thailand -- (16 Dec. 1946)
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia -- (8 Apr. 1993)
Timor-Leste -- (27 Sep. 2002)
Togo -- (20 Sep. 1960)
Tonga -- (14 Sep. 1999)
Trinidad and Tobago -- (18 Sep. 1962)
Tunisia -- (12 Nov. 1956)
Turkey -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Turkmenistan -- (2 Mar. 1992)
Tuvalu -- (5 Sept. 2000)
Uganda -- (25 Oct. 1962)
Ukraine-- (24 Oct. 1945)
United Arab Emirates -- (9 Dec. 1971)
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland-- (24 Oct. 1945)
United Republic of Tanzania -- (14 Dec. 1961)
United States of America -- (24 Oct. 1945)
Uruguay -- (18 Dec. 1945)
Uzbekistan -- (2 Mar. 1992)
Vanuatu -- (15 Sep. 1981)
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) -- (15 Nov. 1945)
Viet Nam -- (20 Sep. 1977)
Yemen -- (30 Sep. 1947)
Zambia -- (1 Dec. 1964)
Zimbabwe -- (25 Aug. 1980)

Looking at the list the Islamic nations make up a good chunk of the membership of the UN.

 

[Dahir]

Woodrow, you listed Kofi Annan as being from Ghana, actually, he was born in Ghana. He attended high school and college in my home state of MINNESOTA!!

Kofi Annan actually attended the same school as my Social Studies teacher.

True!!

 

[Woodrow]

Woodrow, you listed Kofi Annan as being from Ghana, actually, he was born in Ghana. He attended high school and college in my home state of MINNESOTA!!

Kofi Annan actually attended the same school as my Social Studies teacher.

True!!

That is how the UN has him listed. He was the representative from Ghana before being elected Secretary General. It is possible he attended school here in the states. I went to College with a big name from Iraq. (no, not him LOL) But a guy that did get mentioned in the newspapers a few times and he did all his undergrade work here in the States in Louisiana.

 

[Dahir]

That is how the UN has him listed. He was the representative from Ghana before being elected Secretary General. It is possible he attended school here in the states. I went to College with a big name from Iraq. (no, not him LOL) But a guy that did get mentioned in the newspapers a few times and he did all his undergrade work here in the States in Louisiana.

Oh, I see. I think then that maybe he only attended school in America, oh, and the college he, and my teacher, attended was Macalester University; its one of the top schools in the Midwest.

You know, the funny thing is that many foreign "big guys" attend mid-range schools; not usually Harvard, just decent state or private colleges in small states, like many foreign leaders have attended Arizona University. Strange trend.

BACK TO TOPIC: For those who say the US stay in the UN, re-look what the US has been pulling off the last few years and how much power the US has over the UN; its a bit ironic for a single group to be stronger than the so-called enforcers of law, a.k.a. "United Nations."

Like I've said, the UN is only good for taxing powerful countries and spreading goodwill, they're also good at it, but sometimes they abuse it (oil for food), so I say each man for himself, it should teach some smaller nations responsibility.

 

[Woodrow]

That is how the UN has him listed. He was the representative from Ghana before being elected Secretary General. It is possible he attended school here in the states. I went to College with a big name from Iraq. (no, not him LOL) But a guy that did get mentioned in the newspapers a few times and he did all his undergrade work here in the States in Louisiana.

My error he never was the Representative from Ghana.

Here is an excerpt from his biography.

Mr. Annan was born in Kumasi, Ghana, on 8 April 1938. He studied at the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi and completed his undergraduate work in economics at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A., in 1961. From 1961 to 1962, he undertook graduate studies in economics at the Institut universitaire des hautes études internationales in Geneva. As a 1971-1972 Sloan Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mr. Annan received a Master of Science degree in management.

Mr. Annan joined the United Nations system in 1962 as an administrative and budget officer with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva. Since then, he has served with the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Addis Ababa; the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF II) in Ismailia; the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva; and, at UN Headquarters in New York, as Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management and Security Coordinator for the UN System (1987-1990) and Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Planning, Budget and Finance, and Controller (1990-1992).

In 1990, following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, Mr. Annan was asked by the Secretary-General, as a special assignment, to facilitate the repatriation of more than 900 international staff and citizens of Western countries from Iraq. He subsequently led the first United Nations team negotiating with Iraq on the sale of oil to fund purchases of humanitarian aid.

Before being appointed Secretary-General, Mr. Annan served as Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations (March 1992-February 1993) and then as Under-Secretary-General (March 1993-December 1996). His tenure as
Under-Secretary-General coincided with unprecedented growth in the size and scope of United Nations peacekeeping operations, with a total deployment, at its peak in 1995, of almost 70,000 military and civilian personnel from 77 countries. From November 1995 to March 1996, following the Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Annan served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the former Yugoslavia, overseeing the
transition in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) to the multinational Implementation Force (IFOR) led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

As Secretary-General, Mr. Annan's first major initiative was his plan for reform, "Renewing the United Nations", which was presented to the Member States in July 1997 and has been pursued ever since with an emphasis on improving
coherence and coordination. His April 1998 report to the Security Council on "The Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa" was among several efforts to maintain the international community's commitment to Africa, the most disadvantaged of the world's regions.

He has used his good offices in several delicate political situations. These included an attempt in 1998 to gain Iraq's compliance with Security Council resolutions; a mission in 1998 to help promote the transition to civilian rule in
Nigeria; an agreement in 1999 to resolve a stalemate between Libya and the Security Council over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing; diplomacy in 1999 to forge an international response to violence in East Timor; the certification of Israel's
withdrawal from Lebanon in September 2000, and further efforts, since the renewed outbreak of violence in September 2000, to encourage Israelis and Palestinians to resolve their differences through peaceful negotiations based on Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 and the principle of "land for peace".

Mr. Annan has also sought to improve the status of women in the Secretariat and to build closer partnerships with civil society, the private sector and other non-State actors whose strengths complement those of the United Nations; in
particular, he has called for a "Global Compact" involving leaders of the world business community as well as labour and civil society organizations, aimed at enabling all the world's people to share the benefits of globalization and embedding the global market in values and practices that are fundamental to meeting socio-economic needs.

In April 2000, he issued a Millennium Report, entitled "We the Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century", calling on Member States to commit themselves to an action plan for ending poverty and inequality, improving
education, reducing HIV/AIDS, safeguarding the environment and protecting peoples from deadly conflict and violence. The Report formed the basis of the Millennium Declaration adopted by Heads of State and Government at the Millennium Summit, held at UN Headquarters in September 2000..

In April 2001, the Secretary-General issued a five-point "Call to Action" to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic -- which he described as his "personal priority" -- and proposed the establishment of a Global AIDS and Health Fund to serve as a
mechanism for some of the increased spending needed to help developing countries confront the crisis.

On 10 December 2001, the Secretary-General and the United Nations received the Nobel Peace Prize. In conferring the Prize, the Nobel Committee said Mr. Annan “had been pre-eminent in bringing new life to the Organization”. In also conferring the Prize on the world body, the Committee said that it wished “to proclaim that the only negotiable road to global peace and cooperation goes by way of the United Nations”.

The Secretary-General is fluent in English, French and several African languages. He is married to Nane Annan, of Sweden, a lawyer and artist who has a great interest in understanding the work of the United Nations in the field. Two issues of particular concern to her are HIV/AIDS and education for women. She has also written a book for children about the United Nations. Mr. and Mrs. Annan have three children.



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