Although America had a Republican president (Gerald Ford), Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a New York Democrat, was the US Ambassador to the UN at the time (he had also worked for Nixon). Fiercely anti-racist, and anti-Communist and pro-Israeli, Moynihan’s reaction to the vote was to deliver a blistering, excoriating verbal assault on the UN.
I’d previously only read extracts from the speech, but reading about in Douglas Murray’s excellent 2005 book, Neoconservatism: Why We Need It made me look it up on YouTube. Moynihan isn’t a great performer (he had a bit of a stutter and his vowels are quite strange) but the speech itself – lucid, angry and righteous - – is magnificent:
I can’t remember the last time I heard such unfeigned moral outrage expressed so articulately by a leading politician: nowadays, it seems to be mainly a matter of shifty little careerists striking self-serving poses.
Still, one thing hasn’t changed – the UN is still rubbish.
Thank you for the clip of of the 1975 Moynihan speech. A triumph of sincerity and content over presentation and oratory - I wonder if his fellow Democrat Obama has listened to it? I had never grasped the difference between "racism" and "racial discrimination" before.
ReplyDeleteThe UN. Apart from the 5 members of the Security Council who have the veto it is basically a growing - and very expensive - waste of time. As John R. Bolton [ US Ambassador 2005/6 and owner of a startling moustache] so wisely said: " The Secretariat Building in New York has 38 stories. If you lost 10 stories to-day it would not make a bit of difference." I think he was being kind. In 2012, the UN's World Tourism Organisation asked Robert Mugabe to "champion world tourism".
Gliding quickly over its useless predecessor The League of Nations, the other equally vacuous -and hugely expensive - international organisation is our own beloved EU. Note the great success of Baroness Ashton's July trip to Egypt and her audience with Mohammed Morsi.
In the late 40s Molotov told Stalin that the Pope was very unhappy about the persecution of his cardinals in Poland and Czeckoslovakia. "How many divisions has the Pope got?" asked Uncle Joe. "None," said Molotov. "Well, tell him to bugger off then". Or words to that effect. Diplomacy without the backing of military muscle is a such a statement of "the bleedin' obvious" that I hesitate to mention it. China is re-arming at a fast pace and Japan has forgotten its 1945 Constitution and is once again building up its fleet. And old Putin is not short of a missile or two.
In the case of the EU, the problem is compounded by ...well, as Henry Kissinger put it: " The EU. Who do I 'phone?" Whenever I watch Fox News and the EU is mentioned everybody falls about laughing.
The best thing about the UN is that it gave the "Fast Show" a great running gag in the form of Boutros Boutros Ghali.
I don't actually believe there's any point arguing with supporters of left-wing supra-national organisations - better just to yell "BARONESS ASHTON" in their faces again and again until they apologise for ever holding such stupid opinions.
DeleteShame The Fast Show isn't around to have fun with Ban-Ki Moon. Mind you, he's a distinct improvement on Kofi Bleedin' Annan.
Baroness Ashton has yet again volunteered to return to Egypt and fix things. Like the last time. Having been deprived of his belly-dancers for a long period, can you imagine the look on Morsi's face when "hot-lips" Ashton walks through the door? Bring back the Farouq Family - excellent dynasty!
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