President Tony and UN Ambassador Carmela make the world an offer it can’t refooseby digby
President Tony:
Carmela:
The UN didn’t capitulate to their threats. Mark Goldberg at UN Dispatch gives the overview of what happened at the UN today.
In remarks ahead of the vote, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley explicitely threatened to cut American funding for the United Nations over this vote. This is a dangerous conflation between the work of the UN around the world and the individual actions of countries who are members of the UN. As Richard Hobrooke once famously quipped, blaming the United Nations when votes do not go in America’s favor is like blaming Madison Square Garden when the Knicks play badly.
Should the US make good on this threat, the world could be thrown into profound disarray.
The US is the largest financial supporter of the UN, paying about quarter of the regular budget and 28 percent of the budget of UN Peacekeeping. The US is also among the largest funders of humanitarian agencies like UNICEF, the World Food Program and the UN Refugee Agency. Reducing or cutting funding to the UN and its agencies would have a devastating impact around the world. The idea that the United States would punish vulnerable people in need of food aid because other countries in the world do not agree with its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel makes no sense.
Yeah, well, that’s how we roll these days.
Trump behaved like a thug and so did Haley. “We’re taking names” and “we won’t be taken advantage of anymore.” In other words do what we say or we’ll tear this place apart.
The ramifications of this behavior are going to be with us for a long time to come. The most powerful nation on earth is currently run by 3rd rate gangsters who think the US is a protection racket. This sort of thing rarely ends well.
It’s the holiday season and if you’d like to drop a little something in the Hullabaloo Christmas stocking it would be much appreciated. As always I’m immensely grateful for all of you who drop by to read this creaky old blog. It’s what keeps me going.
Happy Hollandaise everyone! Keep the faith.
cheers — digby
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