[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 146 (Friday, October 17, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2082-E2083]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TIME FOR SOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 17, 2003

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member commends to his colleagues the 
October 4, 2003, editorial from the Norfolk Daily News, which is 
entitled ``More of a problem than a solution.'' Although this Member 
certainly is pleased that the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council 
unanimously approved a resolution which establishes a U.S.-led 
multinational force in Iraq, he continues to hold many of the concerns 
outlined in the editorial with regard to the failure of the U.N. to 
adapt to current realities.
  Recently, this Member became a co-sponsor of the National Commission 
on the Modernization of the United Nations Act of 2003 (H.R. 3079). 
Through this measure, which was introduced by the distinguished 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw), Congress would create an 
independent commission to explore how the U.S. could encourage 
structural changes in the U.N. Indeed, for the U.N. to remain relevant, 
the institution must be open and willing to reassess its structure, and 
the United States should lead the campaign for changes.

              [From the Norfolk Daily News, Oct. 4, 2003.]

                   More of a Problem Than a Solution

       President Bush has asked the United Nations for help in 
     rebuilding Iraq. But instead of responding with a loud 
     ``yes'' and saying they will finally do the right thing for 
     people in need, many members harrumphed and growled and once 
     more demonstrated that the world organization may be on the 
     road to irrelevance.
       Kofi Annan, the U.N. secretary general, reminded anyone who 
     would listen how the world body had ``imperfectly'' kept the 
     planet peaceful for 58 years and that the current U.S. policy 
     of pre-emptive action puts all of that at risk.
       Someone should bring it to his attention that the 
     imperfections have included round after round of genocide and 
     incessant war in Africa.
       A policy of pre-emption in the absence of clear, immediate 
     danger is, in fact, a policy that could be pronounced unwise 
     at one point in human history. That point was prior to the 
     advert of weapons of mass destruction and multiple acts of 
     catastrophic terrorism.
       The Bush administration was awakened by the Sept. 11 
     terrorism to new realities that make some previous policies 
     as outdated as would be the manufacturing of carriages 
     instead of cars in Detroit. It is naive to suppose, as Mr. 
     Annan does, that the U.S. example may lead other nations to 
     protect themselves through aggressive action they would not 
     otherwise have employed.

[[Page E2083]]

       The United Nations demonstrated that it is more problem 
     than solution when it failed to follow through on the last in 
     a series of resolutions that Iraq must account for weapons of 
     mass destruction, and it will not somehow absolve itself of 
     irresponsibility through negligence and antagonistic rhetoric 
     now.
       If the United Nations does not come through, the United 
     States must ponder whether it can instigate a positive 
     restructuring or become increasingly less supportive of the 
     organization.

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