U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during an event at the Concert Noble in Brussels, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during an event at the Concert Noble in Brussels, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018. AP Photo/Francisco Seco

Yes, the UN Is Still Necessary

In his dramatic Dec. 4 speech decrying the international body, Secretary of State Pompeo seems to have confused cause and correlation.

Last week, at the headquarters of the German Marshall Fund in Brussels, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered an address that asked an important question – a question that should be on top of every Americans’ mind: does the modern international order, 70 years removed from its founding, still work?

For many bread-and-butter voters, it may seem like the answer to that question is a resounding no. Terrorists routinely threaten our cherished liberties, deadly opioids flood into our country from overseas, and countries such as China and Russia increasingly challenge America on the world stage.

Where is that “beloved” international order in all of this, they ask; where are the institutions born in the aftermath of two world wars that were supposed to elevate us to a new plane of peace, security, and prosperity?

These are legitimate concerns — but are unfortunately rooted in an overarching misperception of not only the reason the UN was created but of the very real ways our involvement in the UN has made our country safer, stronger, and more respected.

Related: Trump Taps Loyalist Fox News Veteran as UN Ambassador

Related: America is Losing Power and Influence and Must Adapt, Warns UN Secretary General

Related: A Solitary and Defiant Message to the UN In Trump’s Second Speech

Now, I’m not going to try and argue that the UN is a perfect institution – far from it. But it undoubtedly serves a near-perfect mission. In its simplest form, the UN was established to be a common venue for nations to try and work out their problems diplomatically and, when necessary, take collective action to secure a common peace.

There is no clearer example of this than UN peacekeeping: dangerous and massive international efforts to rescue fragile nations beset by sectarian conflict, civil war, and radical terrorism.

In his speech, Secretary Pompeo calls out peacekeeping missions that “drag on for decades, no closer to peace” as evidence of some sort of systematic failure within the United Nations. This rhetoric seems to succumb to the common confusion of cause and correlation. Yes, it’s true, peacekeeping is no quick fix, but that is a reflection of the incredibly complex environments in which peacekeepers operate – and thus why these missions are so necessary in the first place.

Having visited six UN peace operations, including the “big four” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Mali, and the Central African Republic, I’ve seen these truths with my own eyes. These missions are in some of the most dangerous, remote, and unstable places on the planet, conflicts even America’s military, the best fighting force in the world, would have difficulty quickly resolving.

More to the point, though, is the notion that peacekeeping missions simply never end. Peacekeeping missions do indeed complete their mandates and close. Over the past 20 years, blue helmets helped war-stricken West Africa emerge from chaos, bringing back peace, rule of law, and stability to Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, and Liberia. Today, the region has been transformed, thanks in large part to the UN’s presence. In fact, in March, the mission in Liberia became the last of the three UN peacekeeping missions in the region to complete its mandate and leave its host country in a safer, more stable place than they found it.

Those successes didn’t happen overnight, though. In Liberia’s case, the mission lasted 15 years. But just as with U.S. military engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan, it’s the conditions on the ground that should dictate mission length, not the other way around. Peacekeeping missions, many of which are becoming increasingly complex and dangerous, are simply no different.

I agree with the Secretary that we have to challenge the norms; there is nothing worse than a bureaucracy that grows complacent. But the argument that the United Nations has outlived its usefulness, particularly as blue-helmeted peacekeepers work to prevent genocides in Africa and keep a lid on political tensions in the Middle East, is simply wrong.

We need continued U.S. leadership at the UN more now than ever because, as the Secretary pointed out recently, “It’s a mean, nasty world out there.” As bad actors seek to twist and weaken the international order to satiate their own self-serving interests, we need a venue to hash out our differences, call out nations that threaten our values, and when need be, take action to defend all the progress we’ve made over these last 70 years. That’s why we have the UN and why it’s still so needed today.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.