Found this item on another discussion board re: Clinton at UN meeting calls for UN army. URL is http://www.newsmax.com
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Clinton Calls for U.N. Army
Austin Ruse
Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2000, 12:34 p.m. EST
President Bill Clinton told world leaders gathered today in New York that the United Nations needs a rapid deployment force of well-trained and well-equipped soldiers capable of projecting "credible force" into trouble spots.
Clinton was the first head of state to speak at the largest gathering of world leaders in history, attending the U.N. Millennium Summit.
Clinton spoke almost exclusively on the "making and keeping of peace."
"There are assembled here more people with the power to create peace than have ever gathered together in one place in the history of the world. Can we seize this moment?"
He said that most wars now occur within borders and are caused principally by "ethnic and religious" differences.
He said national sovereignty and territorial integrity should take a back seat to keeping the peace.
"Whether it is diplomacy, sanctions, or collective force, we must find ways to protect people as well as borders. There are times when the international community must take a side – not merely stand between the sides."
Clinton’s call for a U.N. rapid deployment force – effectively a standing army at the disposal of the United Nations – will certainly fuel efforts by Democrats in Congress to deploy 6,000 American soldiers for permanent U.N. service.
His proposal will also give political conservatives increasing fear the U.N. will become an independent political force with its own military arm.
Clinton criticized the U.S. Congress for holding up payment of U.S. U.N. dues. "All nations, including my own, must meet our obligations to the U.N. Those who believe we can either do without the U.N., or impose our will upon it, have not learned from history and do not understand the future."
Clinton spoke to a packed U.N. General Assembly Hall with overflow jammed into conference rooms in the U.N. basement.
In the Hall were all the major leaders of the world, including French President Jacques Chirac, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Cuban president Fidel Castro, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Israel’s Ehud Barak, Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, and the Princes of Monaco, Morocco and Saudi Arabia were also present.
In his remarks, Vladimir Putin called for a U.N. conference to be convened in Moscow for the prevention of weapons in space; a proposal aimed directly at the proposed U.S. intercontinental missile shield.
All leaders are expected to address the conference, which will continue through Friday.
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Clinton Calls for U.N. Army
Austin Ruse
Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2000, 12:34 p.m. EST
President Bill Clinton told world leaders gathered today in New York that the United Nations needs a rapid deployment force of well-trained and well-equipped soldiers capable of projecting "credible force" into trouble spots.
Clinton was the first head of state to speak at the largest gathering of world leaders in history, attending the U.N. Millennium Summit.
Clinton spoke almost exclusively on the "making and keeping of peace."
"There are assembled here more people with the power to create peace than have ever gathered together in one place in the history of the world. Can we seize this moment?"
He said that most wars now occur within borders and are caused principally by "ethnic and religious" differences.
He said national sovereignty and territorial integrity should take a back seat to keeping the peace.
"Whether it is diplomacy, sanctions, or collective force, we must find ways to protect people as well as borders. There are times when the international community must take a side – not merely stand between the sides."
Clinton’s call for a U.N. rapid deployment force – effectively a standing army at the disposal of the United Nations – will certainly fuel efforts by Democrats in Congress to deploy 6,000 American soldiers for permanent U.N. service.
His proposal will also give political conservatives increasing fear the U.N. will become an independent political force with its own military arm.
Clinton criticized the U.S. Congress for holding up payment of U.S. U.N. dues. "All nations, including my own, must meet our obligations to the U.N. Those who believe we can either do without the U.N., or impose our will upon it, have not learned from history and do not understand the future."
Clinton spoke to a packed U.N. General Assembly Hall with overflow jammed into conference rooms in the U.N. basement.
In the Hall were all the major leaders of the world, including French President Jacques Chirac, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Cuban president Fidel Castro, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Israel’s Ehud Barak, Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, and the Princes of Monaco, Morocco and Saudi Arabia were also present.
In his remarks, Vladimir Putin called for a U.N. conference to be convened in Moscow for the prevention of weapons in space; a proposal aimed directly at the proposed U.S. intercontinental missile shield.
All leaders are expected to address the conference, which will continue through Friday.
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