Abstract

Will the U.S. Go it Alone?

As the world celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations--an institution originally proposed and thereafter often dominated by the United States--Republican majorities in both houses of Congress appear intent on circumscribing U.S. involvement with the organization and reducing the U.N. ability to keep the world's peace. Pro-UN forces in this country, caught offguard by the assault, are only now beginning to mount a counterattack. The two bills call for sharp cutbacks on America's contributions to peacekeeping operations by subtracting from the estimated $1 billion a year that we pay as dues the cost of the previous year's voluntary U.S. assistance to causes blessed by the Security Council, such as the Haitian occupation, enforcement of no-flight zones over Bosnia and even support of U.S.