I was thinking this morning as I read about the United States sending troops to Haiti under the UN sign of approval, do we get reimbursed in any way for the military costs when we participate in these humanitarian/peacekeeping efforts? Obviously we as the only superpower are involved in most of these efforts around the world and I wondered if the UN helps subsidize the costs through member contributions or if these efforts fall squarely on the shoulders of the US taxpayer? This is not directed at the current administration, it's more an observation. There are a lot of countries besides us that benefit from a stable "world" and if they can't provide military assets, they should certainly be helping pay for ours.

 

I don't know the answer to your question with any certainty. However, I suspect you and I are paying the tab.

The UN in my mind is nothing more than a way to involve the rest of the world in our affairs.

Should we care that the Haitians are killing each other? Let them work it out however they like.

 

Even if we got reimbursed by the UN - Who do you think gave the UN the money to pay us?

What going on in Haiti is typical banana republic politics - kind of like LA in 1991 (?). In case you don't remember Clinton installed him as ruler by use of force in 1994.

 

Since we are the largest contributer to the U.N.,I'd say we are paying for it one way or the other.

 

One of the joys of being the self appointed police force to the world!

 

Countries pay dues to the UN, the amount of the dues is based on things like GDP, etc. I used to have notes from one of my international relations classes that gave the specific breakdown on who contributed how much. The G8 countries usually just throw money at the UN peacekeeping efforts while the poorer countries are the ones stuck supplying the actual manpower.

 

We also have a vested interest in calming Haiti down, called immigration. Guess where most will head, one way or another, without enough stabilization to distribute the AID food supplies that the country relies on to keep the populace from starvation?

 

The ultimate goal of many is a U.N. income tax on each of us in the future.

Watch for it in a neighborhood near you!

 

No, the UN pays for nothing except to put more socialists in positions of control. I seem to recall they were squawking just a few years back that we "owed" them something on the order of $3 Billion. We coughed up $1 Billion and told them that was it. Ted Turner gave them a billion or so several years ago too. I was once told that there has never been a Secretary General, or whatever the title for the "elected" leader of the UN, that was not a Socialist. I can believe it as they are very selective in where they interfere and what they do. Nothing was done in Angola but they squealed loudly about us going into Iraq. To show what the UN is about check out the World Criminal Court. This court is to have the "authority" to arrest and try any country's leader that the UN says has committed a criminal act. Additionally check out the sculpture outside the UN building in New York, what do you suppose their purpose is in having a revolver with the barrel tied into a knot? It definitely is not to allow us the freedoms we enjoy.

 

Since we are the largest contributer to the U.N.,I'd say we are paying for it one way or the other.

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I don't think this comment is true.

I was reading an article in a new magazine saying the UN was asking/telling the US to get their lapsed Dues payments in as they were owning a whole pile of money.

Personally I think that is crap, if anyone in this world that shouldn't be hounded for DUES ,it is the US who contribute more to the whole than anyone.

I think the UN is a joke. Moreso because I heard our Former CRIME Minister wants to be the Head Honcho of it.

 

Right on Dennis! Couldn't agree more. The amount of dues the US withholds is minor - done as a protest. Besides, the dues we also furnish the land and the buildings the UN occupies. Last time I looked, the lights were still on but as landlord, the entire UN should be evicted. Let France have the "honors" for awhile.

 

I see a lot of erroneous information posted regarding the UN, most probably due to emotionalism prompted by events in Iraq.

If you're in NYC, you should visit the UN Plaza, a big area that includes the UN building, a fine hotel and other old and new commercial ventures, surrounded by one of the nicest areas in NYC, known as Turtle Bay. The land for the UN portion of the plaza was donated by the Rockefeller Family to a foundation, not provided or owned by the US Government, and resides in a foundation that would take a few years to unravel, purposefully locating the UN in the center of the World's currently most powerful city.

UN dues are assessed by each member's percentage of the world economy and ability to pay.

Before blindly blaming the UN for actions, inactions or 'schemes' to dominate the world, I suggest reading a brief summary of scope, mandate, responsibilities and how the UN actually operates:

http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/bgnotes/igos/un9210.html

 

Kudos to George for pointing out how thinking with your heart instead of your head can impede logical thought processes.

Having been on a few UN Missions in my life has made me appreciate what that organization has done, and can do in the future if selfish "sovereignty" is not wielded as an impediment to resolving issues that affect ALL mankind.

There is currently a movement to "Get the US out of the UN" being pushed by a neoconservative agenda. If it should come to pass, we'd be signing our own death warrant. We've become dependent on resources OUTSIDE of the continental US, or it's EEZ. Rights of overflight, sealanes of navigation, access to oil minerals etc could be rescinded at will.

If you want to be an international player, you've got to learn to play by international rules...otherwise stay on your own porch.

 

I believe a portion of current US mainstream dissatisfaction with the UN is due to ignorance about the UN's mission. The primary cause has been the policies of our current administration to act on a unilateral basis when it suits them and then use the UN as a scapegoat for their actions by waving the flag to convince the gullible public that our best interests were at stake. Everyone wants to believe our government is doing what's best for the country as a whole, but rolling the dice on finding WMD as a reason to invade, occupy and then foot the bill to rebuild a sovereign nation and then switching to other rationale to satisfy the public is by no means in the best interests of anyone with sound reasoning tempering their patriotism.

By ignoring the UN Security Council vote against our invasion of Iraq, we placed ourself in a position of risk based on hearsay, political manipulation and expanded the rationale used by our enemies to further mistrust our motivations. We are in an international economy and there are far more effective ways to destroy us that don't involve aggressive military hardware, they just take a little longer. The UN is still the last neutral ground for airing greivances, non-binding negotiations and above/under the table deals that allow the world to maintain the ability to communicate on a reasonable basis.

For those of you who think we don't need other nations, think again. Take a look at what we produce and match that to what we import. The world is again in a period of change and aside from the military aspect, which produces no tax revenue to fill our diminishing coffers but excites the public, we're not, by any stretch of the imagination, looking out for our best interests. We seem to be hicks in the international game.

 

Quote by Vito
Kudos to George for pointing out how thinking with your heart instead of your head can impede logical thought processes.
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The above script hardly looks anything close, to being a compliment.

We state Over & Over again....no derogatory personal remarks toward another user.