Rigell: North Korea – Watchdog for Disarmament?
By Guest Post | Tuesday, July 5th, 2011 | Columns, PolicyBy Congressman Scott Rigell
North Korea recently assumed the presidency of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament. Sounds like a joke, but it’s not. This follows our Navy’s interception of a North Korea ship delivering missiles to Burma in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. Who were the first to congratulate North Korea on its new post? Iran, Burma and China. North Korea’s behavior has been deplorable:
* May 2009—Testing a nuclear weapon
* March 26, 2010—Sinking the South Korean navy corvette Cheonan, taking the lives of 46 sailors on board
* November 23, 2010—Shortly after announcing its new nuclear facilities, firing over 170 artillery rounds toward Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, killing two ROK Marines and two civilians, injuring many more and damaging multiple structures
This election by the Conference on Disarmament insults the millions of North Koreans who are severely oppressed by a brutal, dictatorial regime—Kim Jong Il and his inner circle. The election of North Korea to this post once again shows the failure of the U.N. as credible international organization. We need accountability not only in Washington, but in the U.N. as well. What is taking place in the U.N. is unacceptable. Why should we fund an organization that is run by incompetent leaders who do not share our values?
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34 Responses to "Rigell: North Korea – Watchdog for Disarmament?"
In exploring this issue a little further I will provide a link from which I am going to lift a quote:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/make-believe-world-of-the-un-exposed-124996499.html
North Korea “…will hold the presidency for a few weeks because it’s North Korea’s turn alphabetically in the 65-member conference…”.
With that explanation in mind, I do not think this is such a travesty. It certainly does not rise to the height of an outrage that would justify dropping funding to the United Nations.
My own question is just which situation is really correct? Was it North Korea’s “turn” or are we to believe the misleading link you provided to the reporting offered by FoxNews?
N Korea presiding is yet another sucka punch landed on the poeple of the USA.. Peace costs less than war and the UN is a devolved forum for our adversaries. We pay what 20-25%? For access to what? The UN is as obsolete now as the League of nations became circa WW2. Shut off funding and let them host their own summits somewhere else at their own expense. Vote to defund the UN and all the special programs, even the good ones. Anthing less and the vast cesspool of corruption at our expense will continue.
Talk about misdirection. Scott, right now, I would like my Copngressman to focus on what is most important to me and my family, and to the business for which I labor. Your intrasigence in regard to raising the debt limit is disturbing and reflects the failure of House leadership to see through politics to what is essential to the continued recovery; that is, put this issue behind us, and adopt a budget that cuts expenses, increases revenue, with the goal of reducing the deficit year by year until we have reinstituted pay go. Focus Scott; if you fail, our nation will plunge back into recession, and right now, that is far more important to me than the chairmanship on an international organization.
Here comes Mike favoring more tax increases.
The Honorable Mr Barrett must be the ONLY person in this area who has never heard of
“FREEDOM FORD”
When it comes to the economy, budgets, debt ceilings ; would you trust Mr Barrett and the “Jimmy Carter” now in the WH ??
Or would you trust the highly successful manager of the highly successful business
“FREEDOM FORD”
Yes Brian, like most economists, I do believe that the so called debt crisis has been caused by the Bush era tax cuts which have robbed us of revenue we should have received, and of course by his spending on the Iraq war and his increased Medicare benefits without paying for them. Ironically of course, one of your heroes, VP Cheney, at the time dismissed deficits by saying your main guy, President Reagan, said deficits don’t matter. So Brian, which is it? The republicans have made a political calculation, and want the economy to be back in recession so they can blame it on the President. Frankly, I find that calculation to be despicable, as well as wrong. The Bush legacy of war, unpaid benefits, and financial ruin just keeps paying and paying.
Only Mike Barrett thinks that legally keeping your own money is “robbery”
So Brian, is it really true? You are denying the advice of your political hero, Ronald Reagan. I would never have believed you could admit that fact. And frankly, I don’t for one minute believe that Reagan would make the kind of drastic cuts that would be necessary, cuts that would dwarf the austerity measures imposed on Greece. No, this use of political blackmail is a new tactic of the extreme GOP that appears willing to plunge this nation back into recession to prove a point even it did not believe in three years ago. Their ideological agenda, and their thirst for power, in order to protect the irrational income of hedge fund managers, titans on Wall Street, and those who own corporate jets, shows such a depressing disregard for the other 98% of us that it is time to send them packing.
MB hijacks another post. No figures to back up his claims cut and pasted from Media Matters. No criticism of Dems who controlled everything for two years and who voted for almost everything he decries. No criticism that all their “budget cuts” are phony. Brian you too are mistaken. It is not “only” MB who thinks this way. Would that it were so.
To return to the post the UN operates on the socialist principle that everyone deserves their turn. That is their basis of merit. The UN should be downsized. No need for them to involve themselves so fecklessly and corruptly in 200 things.
Fine, perhaps I am just a dumb schmuck, trying to run a business. I guess I should be pleased with the distinct possibility that post default, interest rates will rise, that business activity will plunge, that our tenants will be forced into cuts, down sizing, and for some, bankruptcy, that new tenants would be a figment of my imagination, that my own 401k would plunge in value, my house will plummet in value, and that my Commonwealth and City would face drastic cuts, but hey, the rich and wealthy corporate masters and sponsors of the far right majority in the House will do just fine. Frankly, for most of us, the intrasigence of the House republicans is astounding, and if they think throwing us under the bus will help their election chances, I think they have miscalculated.
As far as the economy/debt, I blame a long line of progressive and progressive light Congressmen and the people put and kept them there, more than individual Presidents.
As far as the UN, I still think they should move their HQ to Haiti and let them show us how to run that country.
The only famous name on the right that Mike hasn’t dropped tonight is Grover Norquist. Mike let us know about your bankruptcy and when they are going to auction your house and businesses. I will show up and make a bid.
Actually JZ, if you want to blame someone for creating the conditions of near fiscal collapse, you need only go back to the policies of the Bush administration, especially fighting two wars on a credit card, and expanding Medicare without paying for it. The result of this fiscal irresponsibility required the bailout and the stimulus. Yes, the bipartisan action of Congress and the President prevented depression, but no one actually believed we whistled by the graveyard. Sure the Government had to then stimulate the economy, and now is the time to start reducing expenses, raise some additional revenue, expand the economy, and move toward deficit reduction. This high wire act brought on by the ideological furvor of the republicans is simply not necessary if they will sit down and negotiate. I for one want a pragmatic solution; check your ideological furvor at the door.
And Tim J, in your honor, I herein include the Bush tax cuts, enforced by Grover Norquist, which reduced rates for the wealthy, and which have reduced the nation’s revenue by some 25% this year. So simply restoring the tax rates to the level they were at when our economy was doing just fine, the budget was balanced, and the debt was actually being reduced, and we restore fiscal sanity. But not political sanity to Grover, who will paint a target on the back of any republican who would dare to simply restore the tax rates so the rich pay their fair share.
Mike, I agree with you 100%.
You are a dumb schmuck.
Brian,
More then half of Americans support some tax increases to solve the deficit problem.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/11/us-usa-taxes-congress-idUSTRE74A74G20110511
If Republicans want to take this issue to the mat they are going to be pinned for the count.
LD – thanks for the link. It’s pitiful testimony to our times – and to the quality of our representatives – we’ve got to ‘fact check’ behind them.
Mike Barrett is right. FGS, Mr. Rigell … focus! The facts:
1) The Conference on Disarmament is a backwater in the UN system. … The Conference for Disarmament, for its part, basically does very little. Member states have not given much clout to the organization.
2) There are 65 members of the Conference on Disarmament. It operates by its own “Rules of Procedure” independent of standard UN practices. The “presidency” is a position that is rotated between members every few weeks.
3) In the end, the fact that North Korea is holding the three week rotating presidency of a backwater multilateral body will not make a lick of difference on any substantive progress toward disarmament worldwide.
http://www.undispatch.com/so-north-korea-is-leading-the-conference-on-disarmament-so-what
Mr Rigell, this guest post makes you look foolish.
LittleDavid, most voters could support 100% income tax rates for truckers.
Does that make it a great idea?
No Jay D, it makes Rep. Rigell brilliant in pointing out the useless and expensive hypocrisy that is the UN.
“What is taking place in the U.N. is unacceptable. Why should we fund an organization that is run by incompetent leaders who do not share our values?”
That is a very valid question.
Instead of giving our money to the UN, use it to build a liquid-fluoride thorium nuclear reactor in Virginia.
Now that Glenn Nye has cleared the field, Rigell will have an opponent who will not only match him for personal wealth, but who has actually served the community personally, who is committed to the community, and who values the contributions made by Governors like Baliles, Wilder, Mark Warner, and Kaine. Rigell has shown himself to be the servant of the rich and wealthy country club crowd, and they expect him to deliver on policies that serve their interests to the exclusion of the large majority in this region. I hope Rigell keeps focusing on N. Korea and does not get too comfortable in Washington.
Sorry V, that fish won’t fly. Rigell’s post is misleading (at worst) and flat out uninformed (at best) ~ take your pick.
“This election …” ~ no election took place. It’s an automatically rotating position for a 3-week term. If there was no election, then there is no basis for outrage.
During 2006 the rotating Presidency of the Conference was held by Poland, the Republic of Korea, Romania, the Russian Federation, Senegal and Slovakia.
2007: South Africa, Sri Lanka, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Syria.
2008: Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela.
2009: Viet Nam, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, and Austria.
2010: Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, and Cameroon
2011: Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
“ …severely oppressed by a brutal, dictatorial regime …” applies to at least half this list. Where’s Rigell’s outrage on 2011 presidents China? Cuba?
Brilliant?? – not in this world. “Why should we fund an organization that is run by incompetent leaders who do not share our values?” Good question ~ especially applied to the US Congress.
Brian,
Well you are not too far off. Virginia was seriously considering adding four lanes the entire length of I-81 out west and tolling ONLY trucks for the improvements. My Senator Wagner was one of the cheerleaders for this grand idea.
No, I do not think that is a good idea and Wagner has got to go.
If you want to get into a discussion on just how much in taxes we truckers really do pay each year I would love to get into it. You might be shocked how much each truck rolling down the road pays.
Now that the thread has been hijacked by LD and trucks… how about that agreement signed by the Obama administration between US and Mexico that allows Mexican truckers to compete on an even playing field with US truckers? Mexican truckers will be up against the Teamsters union who has built their own “border fence” to keep the competition out. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said “The agreements signed today are a win for roadway safety and they are a win for trade”.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2011/0706/Landmark-US-Mexico-trucking-agreement-resolves-15-year-conflict
Tim J,
I didn’t hijack this thread, I only responded to where the thread was going and specifically to Brian Kirwin’s comment.
As for the Mexican trucker issue? Most truckers oppose this. It is not industry wide because some of the big American trucking money has gone into opening up Mexican trucking companies who wish to reap the harvest of the pillage.
I thought the last election was about jobs and the economy; I don’t think there was a mention of North Korea. This forum’s silence on the most pressing issue facing the United States, the potential for default that has never occurred in our nation’s history, and which will plummet us back into recession, unemployment, and turmoil, and our Congressman, Scott Rigell, is apparently oblivious to the criticality of this momentus issue. But he is focused on the three week revolving chairmanship of a committee no one actually knew about. Scott’s support for the republican leadership’s mantra of no taxes reveals that concerns expressed about the deficit are simply a strawman for Norquist’s radical agenda that will destroy our economy at the time we are recovering nicely. Frankly, right now, there really is no other issue we ought to be talking about.
LD, do you or any of your employees belong to the Teamsters union or are you independent?
Tim J,
I am about as independent as they come. One man, one truck, one business.
MB shows up again with the Democrat economic “doomsday” talking points and warnings about Grover Norquist and his absolute and total control of Congress. Nothing short of mushroom clouds appearing across the globe based on weapons technology and parts exported by the North Koreans to rogue regimes who hate us and our allies will divert his obsessive-compulsive fixation on Grover Norquist. Scott Rigel is informing us another example of UN hypocrisy as the cancer that keeps spreading and being exploited by our enemies while we lack the leadership to deal with it. I agree with MB that jobs and economy should be job number one for our leaders, however burying our collective heads in the sand and ignoring those who are trying to kill us will guarantee destructive consequences on many levels to the US and globally far beyond economic “recession, unemployment and turmoil”.
Actually Tim, you can classify my remarks anyway you wish, but I am speaking as the CEO of a business, and a citizen who wants the quality growth in the economy to continue. If you think I have overstated the effect of default, by all means, explain, but the fact is, everyone but the radical republican leadership knows I have not exaggerated. If they wish to plunge our nation into default and our economy into recession, I suspect they will be stunned by the reaction of the voters. And if you don’t think that these representatives and senators fear the target to be painted on their back if they deviate from Norquist’s demands, you don’t understand the power of intimidation he holds over elected officials in the republican party.
It’s likely that the United Nations poses a far greater threat to Western Civilization and the world’s economic future than Al Qaeda does. look at its latest World Economic and Social Survey 2011.
http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wess/index.shtml
The report argues that governments must spend a minimum of 76 trillion dollars steering the global economy onto the path of “green growth.” They are essentially arguing for the destruction of the global economy, enforced rationing, Marxist wealth redistribution, greater regulation, the erosion of property rights and global governance by a new world order of technocrats and bureaucrats.
A debt default is peanuts compared to the plans of Obama, Holdren, Browner and the radical left-wing eco wing nuts of the democratic party.
Back on topic: Reading Scott’s article it seems he favors going to war with North Korea and the United Nations…
JMO as a former navy nuclear weapons tech and military retiree, you/we are not going to stop North Korea. Every war plan we had during my military years started WW3 with N. Korea. I don’t believe any of that has changed since I retired. N. Korea’s leaders don’t care about your talk, your ideals or opinions. They only care about thier goals and objectives. If Scott thinks talking tuff with N. Korea will solve anything, he is mistaken. JMO
@ William Bailey: suspect he wants war with neither. My “R” cap hates to admit it, but this post topic ~ at this time ~ is so acutely outside of what anyone cares about, I can’t offer one logical reason why the congressman calculated that a routine three-week UN sub-subcommittee title turnover was important enough to post about. Perhaps a bit of what the aides call “throwing red meat to the base” or … maybe the important stuff is just too complex for the new D2 rep? Regardless, Scott’s staff didn’t have his back on this one; someone in that office miscalculated. And FWIW, I agree with JYO.
@NotBlue: Not true. You grossly misrepresent the survey.
I wonder when the Honorable Mr Barrett will announce that he will seek the democratic nomination to run against Congressman Rigell ?
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