John Ashcroft in United Nations


On Foreign Policy: UN has no say in deployment of US forces

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan stated that the US would have to consult with the Security Council before launching military strikes against Saddam Hussein. Let me state categorically that the US does not require the permission of the United Nations to use our military forces in the pursuit of our national interests. Nor does the UN have any authority to require that the US use our military forces if it would seek to deploy them. The US has never, at any time, ceded to the UN any power to require the deployment of American forces against the wishes or the judgment of the US, nor have we ceded to the UN any power to forbid the use of our military force. The comments by Secretary General Annan over the weekend are indicative of a growing arrogance of a United Nations that has grown accustomed to dictating American foreign policy toward Iraq. Statements by the UN Secretary General that imply UN oversight of US military forces are indicative of UN arrogance and disrespect for US sovereignty.
Source: Senate Statement on the United Nations and US Policy Mar 9, 1998

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