Whatever Became of the United Nations?

Has anybody looked around Turtle Bay recently?

Remember the United Nations? Or, if you are younger, have you heard of the United Nations? Believe it or not, once upon a time the UN was regarded as a big deal. By “regarded,” that is to say it was the great darling of the old-time liberal elite in this country, who actually believed the toothless organization could bring about world peace (seriously). Formed in the aftermath of World War 2, the UN originally comprised 51 countries whose purpose was the prevention of future wars, a preposterous idea even then, as included in that gathering of the world’s peace loving nations were the Soviet Union and the entire Eastern Bloc (each of the latter having its own vote, in addition to their superiors, the Soviets).

Nevertheless, for years the UN was the institution the United States and other western powers immediately turned to when there was trouble in the rest of the world, despite its only major “accomplishments” being the Korean and Persian Gulf Wars. Thus, for example, when Iranian revolutionaries invaded the American embassy in Tehran and took the entire staff hostage in 1979, the Carter administration chose not to take military action, rather to bring the matter before the UN. Your Tatler remembers hearing daily reports coming out of the UN about the arguments, resolutions, vetoes etc. (by the Arabs and commies of course) until after several long weeks, the UN finally managed to accomplish something: a resolution signed by all nations urging that “both sides show restraint.” Our ambassador at the time, Andrew Young, as well of course, the media, hailed that as a victory.

Nothing much occurred in the UN after that concerning the Iranian crisis, except for the vetoing of any measures with teeth in them. The crisis finally came to an end with the election of Ronald Reagan, who indicated he would take firmer action on the matter (joke at the time: Q. What’s black and glows in the dark? A. Tehran, the day after Reagan takes office).

Your Tatler could bore you to death (and himself) with a colossal list of failures the UN has chalked up over the years. Let it suffice to say the organization has little to show to for its credit.

Yet still, even up to a few years ago, the UN always would get some kind of mention as the various crises emerged over the decades even if just pro forma. Not so now. Though one might think the ignoring of the institution began with the Trump Administration, this writer seems to recall it began toward the end of President Obama’s reign. For all his flaws, he must have come to the conclusion many others did long before, the UN is impotent and just not worth wasting time on. Should Donald Trump become president in 2024, he would be wise to simply pull the US out of the UN, which would effectively kill it. It won’t be missed.