Topics in the News: United Nations
Joe Biden on War & Peace
: Jun 27, 2024
3-stage plan for Gaza; only Hamas opposes it
Q: "In October, Hamas attacked Israel, killing more than 1,000 people and taking hundreds of hostages, including 5 Americans. You've put forward a proposal to resolve this conflict. But so far, Hamas has not released the remaining hostages and Israel is
continuing its military offensive in Gaza. So, what additional leverage will you use to get Hamas and Israel to end the war?"BIDEN: "Number one, everyone from the United Nations Security Council straight through to the G7 to the Israelis & Netanyahu
himself have endorsed the plan I put forward, which has three stages to it. The first stage is to treat the hostages for a ceasefire. Second phase is a ceasefire with additional conditions. The third phase is know the
end of the war. The only one who wants the war to continue is Hamas, number one. They're the only ones standing down [on accepting the Biden plan]. We're still pushing hard to get them to accept." [See FactCheck confirming United Nations acceptance].
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Source: First Trump-Biden debate, at CNN in Atlanta
Joe Biden on War & Peace
: Jun 27, 2024
FactCheck: Yes, UN accepted Gaza peace plan
Biden said in the debate, "Everyone from the United Nations Security Council straight through to the G7 to the Israelis & Netanyahu himself have endorsed the plan I put forward" [to end the war in Gaza in three stages]. Is it true that the UN endorsed
Biden's plan, despite their ongoing condemnation of Israel's actions in the Gaza war? Yes, according to a FactCheck by NPR [but Netanyahu has NOT accepted this plan]:The United Nations Security Council has endorsed President Biden's step-by-step plan
to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. After a 14 to 0 vote, with Russia abstaining, the U.S. Ambassador said the council is sending a clear message to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The Biden administration says Israel already accepted the deal.
Hamas called off negotiations after Israel rescued four hostages held in Gaza in an operation [in early June 2024] that also killed more than 270 Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not [accepted the deal] outright.
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Source: First Trump-Biden debate, at CNN in Atlanta
Joe Biden on Foreign Policy
: Dec 16, 2023
OpEd: Ignoring Latin America is modern Monroe Doctrine
Although the Biden administration has refrained from explicitly invoking the Monroe Doctrine--likely realizing that mentions of Monroe are guaranteed to irritate Latin Americans--the White House's warnings about China's growing footprint in the
Western Hemisphere carry a distinctively Monroeist undertone.[Many Republicans] are following the lead of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who hailed Monroe on the floor of the United Nations General Assembly [to keep China out of Latin America].
Many Biden administration initiatives are perceived in Latin America in a similar light. Top US officials rarely make time for Latin America beyond issues related to immigration and drug trafficking, and the US' economic offerings to the region are
seen as paltry compared to its commitments elsewhere. When Biden officials hector Latin Americans on the dangers of economic engagement with China, the warnings are heard as modern echoes of Monroe's quip that the United States knows best.
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Source: Foreign Policy magazine. "Monroe Doctrine"
Nikki Haley on War & Peace
: Dec 6, 2023
Go hard after Iranian infrastructure in Syria & Iraq
Q: You said in last month's debate that by contrast to the Biden administration's approach to Iran, you would, "Punch them once and punch them hard." Were you saying that it's time to bomb Iran?Haley: No, I was not saying it's time to bomb Iran. But
I dealt with Iran every day when I was at the United Nations and they only respond to strength. What they don't respond to is when you weaken the sanctions like they did on Iran that allowed China to send them billions to fill their proxies, what they
don't respond to is when you give $6 billion for five hostages, that only makes them want more hostages. What they don't respond to is when they do 140 strikes on our men and women in Syria and Iraq and we do nothing but just some small shots back.
You've got to punch them, you've got to punch them hard and let them know that, that's the only way they're going to respond. So the way you do that is you go after their infrastructure in Syria and Iraq where they're hitting our soldiers.
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Source: NewsNation 2023 Republican primary debate in Alabama
Francis Suarez on Energy & Oil
: Aug 18, 2023
Climate change is a serious threat; reduce emissions
On Climate Change: He has pursued significant emission reductions in Miami. Mayor Francis X. Suarez of Miami has acknowledged that climate change is a serious threat--one that is
already hurting his city, he wrote in 2019 in a New York Times opinion essay with the former United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon.
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Source: N.Y. Times on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
Nikki Haley on Foreign Policy
: May 7, 2023
Signed the first anti-BDS legislation in the country
Nikki has long been a strong defender of Israel. As governor, she signed the first anti-BDS legislation in the country. ["BDS" means "Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions" a pro-Palestinian anti-Israel international policy to isolate Israel economically
and politically. "Anti-BDS" implies pro-Israel]. As UN ambassador, she declared "a new day for Israel at the United Nations" and vowed that "the days of Israel bashing are over." Nikki urged President Trump to move America's embassy from Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem even when other members of the administration opposed the move. Nikki changed the conversation at the UN Security Council's monthly session on the Middle East from constantly bashing Israel to highlighting real human rights crises in
tyrannical countries in the Middle East. Despite opposition from the D.C. establishment, Nikki pushed for America's withdrawal from the anti-Israel UNESCO and UN Human Rights Council, and withdrawal of funding from the corrupt UNRWA.
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Source: 2024 Presidential campaign website NikkiHaley.com
Dean Phillips on Foreign Policy
: Dec 7, 2022
Supports UN & human rights, but not UNHRC in Palestine
Dean Phillips partnered with 47 other congressional representatives to advocate for greater objectivity in the United Nations' investigations of alleged human rights violations in Israel and Palestine. In a letter to the U.S. Representative to the
United Nations, Phillips advocated to reduce or eliminate funding for the UN Human Rights Council's (UNHRC) Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (COI).Representative Phillips emphasized that, while the COI is a deeply flawed
entity, he remains a steadfast supporter of both human rights and the United Nations. Phillips said that "anyone who violates human rights should be held accountable -- that is as true for Israel as it is every other country. The problem is that the
COI is the wrong tool for the job. It plays politics with one of the most important issues the UN covers and is a distraction from the UNHRC's crucial role promoting human rights around the globe."
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Source: Presidential campaign 2024 press release phillips.house.gov
Joe Biden on War & Peace
: Feb 4, 2021
Support UN-imposed ceasefire in Yemen
Defense Secretary Austin will be leading a Global Posture Review of our forces so that our military footprint is appropriately aligned with our foreign policy and national security priorities. While this review is taking place, we're stepping up our
diplomacy to end the war in Yemen--a war which has created a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe. I've asked my Middle East team to ensure our support for the United Nations-led initiative to impose a ceasefire, open humanitarian channels, and
restore long-dormant peace talks. To underscore our commitment, we are ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales. At the same time, Saudi Arabia faces missile attacks,
UAV strikes, and other threats from Iranian-supplied forces in multiple countries. We're going to continue to support and help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity and its people.
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Source: Manchester Ink Link on 2020 New Hampshire Senate race
Nikki Haley on Foreign Policy
: Aug 25, 2020
Cast American veto at UN over Jerusalem embassy critics
Obama and Biden led the United Nations to denounce our friend and ally, Israel.
President Trump moved our embassy to Jerusalem, and when the U.N. tried to condemn us, I was proud to cast the American veto.
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Source: Speech at 2020 Republican National Convention
Nikki Haley on Principles & Values
: Aug 25, 2020
Biden & Democrats still blaming America first
It's about an American ambassador to the United Nations and a speech she gave. She called for the re-election of the Republican president and called out his Democratic opponent, a former vice president from a failed administration. That ambassador
said, "Democrats always blame America first." The president was Ronald Reagan. Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick's words are just as true today. Joe Biden and the Democrats are still blaming America first. Donald Trump has always put America first.
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Source: Speech at 2020 Republican National Convention
Joe Biden on War & Peace
: Feb 7, 2020
I made a mistake; Bush said he wouldn't go into Iraq
I made a mistake and I said it 14 years ago. I trusted George Bush to keep his word. He said he was not going to go into Iraq. He said he was only using this to unite the United Nations to insist we get inspectors in to see what Saddam was doing.
When we got elected, the president turned to me with the entire security apparatus and said, "Joe, I want you to organize getting 156,000 troops out of Iraq." I did that. I did that.
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Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Joe Biden on War & Peace
: Feb 7, 2020
I made a mistake; Bush said he wouldn't go into Iraq
I made a mistake and I said it 14 years ago. I trusted George Bush to keep his word. He said he was not going to go into Iraq. He said he was only using this to unite the United Nations to insist we get inspectors in to see what Saddam was doing.
When we got elected, the president turned to me with the entire security apparatus and said, "Joe, I want you to organize getting 156,000 troops out of Iraq." I did that. I did that.
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Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Donald Trump on Environment
: Feb 4, 2020
Join the United Nations' "One Trillion Trees initiative"
To protect the environment, days ago, I announced that the United States will join the One Trillion Trees Initiative, an ambitious effort to bring together Government and the private sector to plant new trees in America and around the world.
Wikipedia explanation:The Trillion Tree Campaign is a campaign of Plant-for-the-Planet to plant a trillion trees, a development and continuation of the activities of the earlier Billion Tree Campaign from 1977.
The World Economic Forum during 2020, held in Davos, Switzerland announced the creation of the One Trillion Tree Initiative platform made for governments,
businesses, and civil society to provide support to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2020-2030), led by the UN Environment Programme and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.
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Source: 2020 State of the Union address to Congress
Bernie Sanders on Technology
: Jan 14, 2020
Our infrastructure is crumbling because of endless wars
Our infrastructure is crumbling. Half our people are living paycheck to paycheck. Eighty-seven million people have no health care or are uninsured or underinsured. We got 500,000 people sleeping out on the streets.
The American people are sick and tired of endless wars which have cost trillions. Our job is to rebuild the United Nations, rebuild the State Department, make sure twe have the capability to resolve international conflict diplomatically.
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Source: 7th Democrat primary debate, on eve of Iowa caucus
Donald Trump on War & Peace
: Dec 11, 2019
Bar Iranian diplomat from addressing UN over assassination
The Trump administration is barring Iran's top diplomat from entering the United States this week to address the United Nations Security Council about the U.S. assassination of Iran's top military official in
Baghdad, violating the terms of a 1947 headquarters agreement requiring Washington to permit foreign officials into the country to conduct U.N. business, according to three diplomatic sources.
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Source: Foreign Policy magazine on impeaching Trump
Joe Biden on Principles & Values
: Dec 4, 2019
AdWatch: World laughs at Trump for dangerous incompetence
[Biden campaign video showing Trump at NATO summit in London]:Narrator 1: "World leaders caught on camera laughing about Pres. Trump"
Narrator 2: "Several world leaders mocking Pres. Trump"
Narrator 3: "They're laughing at him"
Pres. Trump
[speaking at the United Nations in Sept. 2018]: "My administration has accomplished more than almost any other administration in the history of our country"
[Audience laughs]
President Trump: "Didn't expect that reaction, but that's OK."
Narrator
4: "World leaders mocking and ridiculing him for being completely off-balance."
Joe Biden: "The world sees Trump for what he is--insincere, ill-informed, corrupt, dangerously incompetent, and incapable, in my view, of world leadership. And if we give
Donald Trump four more years, we'll have a great deal of difficulty of ever being able to recover America's standing in the world, and our capacity to bring nations together."
Video text: "We need a leader the world respects. Biden for President."
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Source: Twitter posting AdWatch on 2020 Democratic primary
Joe Biden on Foreign Policy
: Nov 20, 2019
Speak out against China at UN, for Uighurs and Hong Kong
With regard to China, look, unless we make it clear that we stand for human rights, we should be going to the United Nations seeking condemnation of China, what they're doing with the million Uighurs that are there, essentially in concentration camps
in the west. We should be vocally, vocally speaking out about the violation of the commitment they made to Hong Kong. We have to speak out and speak loudly about violations of human rights.
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Source: November Democratic primary debate in Atlanta
Bernie Sanders on War & Peace
: Jul 30, 2019
More terrorists after spending trillions on War on Terror
We have spent $5 trillion on the war on terror. And there are probably more terrorists out there now than before it began. The Congress passed--and I will not vote for--a $715 billion military budget, more than the 10 next countries combined.
What we need is a foreign policy that focuses on diplomacy, ending conflicts by people sitting at a table, not by killing each other. I will go to the United Nations and not denigrate it, but bring countries together and solve those problems peacefully.
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Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Marianne Williamson on Foreign Policy
: Jul 1, 2019
2007: Let Iranian president visit Ground Zero
In 2007, when Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad traveled to New York City to speak to the United Nations, Williamson wrote, "When he said he wanted to go to Ground Zero and pay his respects, I think we should have let him.
He didn't perpetrate the horrors of 9/11, any more than Saddam Hussein did! What's going on here?"
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Source: National Review magazine, articles on 2020 candidates
Donald Trump on Foreign Policy
: Sep 25, 2018
Foreign aid only for allies with shared values
Lobbing criticism at a bevy of international institutions, Trump called the U.N. human rights council "a grave embarrassment to this institution" and said the International Criminal Court "has no jurisdiction, no legitimacy and no authority." He touted
some of his most divisive foreign policy decisions, including his crackdown on immigration and his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.The "America first" remarks drew on a similar speech he delivered at the United Nations last year but
included more detailed examples of how that vision informs his policies on trade, immigration and the world's hot spots.
Trump suggested he would sharply curtail U.S. foreign aid, saying he ordered a review of whether countries that receive American
assistance are allies with shared values. "We are only going to give foreign aid to those who respect us and, frankly, are our friends," Trump said. "And we expect other countries to pay their fair share for the cost of their defense."
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Source: USA Today on Trump Administration UN Speech
Donald Trump on Foreign Policy
: Sep 25, 2018
Reject ideology of globalism; embrace doctrine of patriotism
President Donald Trump blamed Iranian leaders for sowing "chaos, death and destruction" in a steely speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that heavily emphasized the president's support of national sovereignty over globalism.
Touting his meeting this year with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and blasting Iran for spreading mayhem in the Middle East, Trump offered an impassioned defense of a foreign policy doctrine he said would allow countries to reject "global governance."
"We reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism," Trump said. "We will never surrender America's sovereignty to an unelected, unaccountable, global bureaucracy."
Trump's remarks were buffeted by warnings from
other world leaders that America's pullback from the international institutions was ill-conceived and even dangerous. "Do not accept the erosion of multilateralism. Don't accept our history unraveling," the President of France said.
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Source: USA Today on Trump Administration UN Speech
Bernie Sanders on Foreign Policy
: Sep 21, 2017
UN is bureaucratic, but does enormously important work
One of the most important organizations for promoting a vision of a different world is the United Nations. It has become fashionable to bash the UN. And yes, the UN needs to be reformed. It can be ineffective, bureaucratic, too slow or unwilling to act,
even in the face of massive atrocities, as we are seeing in Syria right now. But to see only its weaknesses is to overlook the enormously important work the UN does in promoting global health, aiding refugees, monitoring elections, and doing
international peacekeeping missions, among other things. All of these activities contribute to reduced conflict, to wars that don't have to be ended because they never start. At the end of the day, it is
obvious that it makes far more sense to have a forum in which countries can debate their concerns, work out compromises and agreements. Dialogue and debate are far preferable to bombs, poison gas, and war.
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Source: Westminster College speech in Where We Go From Here, p. 98-9
Nikki Haley on Foreign Policy
: Mar 29, 2017
We will deal fairly with people who are fair to us
At the U.S. Mission, we're all about changing the culture and bringing positive energy to the United Nations. We've put accountability front and center. I have no tolerance for unmet promises and inaction. We demand that of ourselves and we expect it of
others. We're also having the backs of our allies, and we're not afraid to call out the governments that don't have our backs. We will deal fairly with the people who are fair with us. If not, all bets are off.
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Source: Council on Foreign Relations on Trump Cabinet
Nikki Haley on Foreign Policy
: Mar 29, 2017
Time to show people reasons to support the U.N.
This is a moment of great responsibility for those who believe in peace and security through international cooperation. Countries all over the world are turning inward. People are questioning the value of interactions with other nations and with
international institutions. Some of those questions are good ones and long overdue, but there's also a danger. Hanging in the balance is the very relevance of the United Nations. This is a time, in short, to show the people reasons to support the U.N.
The Human Rights Council is so corrupt. Countries get on it to protect themselves, to make sure that the fingers never pointed at them instead of actually looking at what we need to be doing around the world. When you've got bad actors that actually
sit on the Human Rights Council, it makes you call into question what we're trying to do. I don't think the Human Rights Council has been effective. I'm trying to find value in the Human Rights Council. If I find it, I'll let you know.
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Source: Council on Foreign Relations on Trump Cabinet
Donald Trump on Foreign Policy
: Dec 22, 2016
Supports construction of Israeli settlements in West Bank
President-elect Donald Trump publicly pressured President Obama to veto a United Nations resolution critical of Israel. Trump called on the president to use the US veto in the UN Security Council to block the Arab-sponsored resolution, which condemned
the "construction and expansion" of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Obama administration, which vetoed a similar resolution in 2011, had withheld judgment over the latest measure.Trump amplified his position by
posting the statement on Facebook and Twitter as well: "The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed." His words closely echoed the positions expressed by Israeli leaders, including Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has treated the impending UN vote as a crisis, posting on his own Twitter account a message urging Obama to veto what he called the "anti-Israel" resolution. Egypt, who drafted the resolution, withdrew it afterwards.
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Source: NY Times on Twitter posting: 2016 Trump transition promises
Jill Stein on War & Peace
: Nov 1, 2012
National conversation before we go to war
Q: The Green Party platform states that the US must handle disputes with foreign countries through the United Nations. If a humanitarian crisis erupts and the UN fails to pass a resolution would you consider bypassing the UN and staging an intervention
without the assistance of other countries?STEIN: I think the priority is that we do not bypass the American people who have been routinely bypassed in most of the interventions in recent decades including Iraq and Libya. This is being done without the
explicit permission from Congress and is a critical check and balance that has gotten lost in the shuffle and is a violation of the US Constitution and the war powers act. It is very dangerous when politicians declare war and exhaust economic resources
and spill the blood of Americans and civilians overseas. Most of the conflicts of the last decade would not have happened had there been a national conversation and discussion about what the true risks and benefits of our national security were.
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Source: iSideWith.com interview of Jill Stein
Jill Stein on Energy & Oil
: Jan 29, 2012
We can't wait 4 more years to address climate change
Q: What about the recent debacle in Durban [the 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference]?A: This is another reason why we're running the campaign now--because if you follow the science, we don't have four years to wait.
We really have to start tackling this now. It's really important for the climate and it's time that people put their politics where their values and science argue they ought to be. I think Obama supporters are really having a rude awakening right now.
The US, as you know, is the largest per capita contributor to climate change and the direction the US pushes goes a long way toward determining what the rest of the world does, and from that perspective,
dramatically downscaling carbon emissions goes a long way toward determining the global carbon budget and helps move global policy that way.
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Source: Interview with Steve Horn of Truthout.org
Joe Biden on Foreign Policy
: Dec 4, 2007
Hold China accountable; it's capitulation, not competition
Q: Many presidential candidates have talked tough about China and its human rights record in the past but, in the end, favor securing our economic interest rather than risk upsetting China. How would you balance human rights and trade with China? A:
I've been pushing, on the Foreign Relations Committee for the last seven years, that we hold China accountable at the United Nations. At the UN, we won't even designate China as a violator of human rights. Now, what's the deal there?
We talk about competition in terms of trade. It's capitulation, not competition. Name me another country in the world that we would allow to conduct themselves the way China has, and not call them on the carpet at the UN
Q: So you would call them on th
carpet?
A: Absolutely.
Q: You would appoint a UN ambassador who would press for this?
A: It's the one way to get China to reform. You can't close your eyes. You can't pretend. It is self-defeating. It's a Hobson's choice we're giving people here.
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Source: 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR
Howie Hawkins on Foreign Policy
: Nov 1, 2006
Support the UN; oppose the Cuban embargo
Q: Should the United States maintain its financial support of the United Nations?A: Yes.
Q: Should the United States commit troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions?
A: Yes.
Q: Should the United States lift the travel ban to Cuba?
A: Yes.
Hawkins adds, "Stop exporting and encouraging nuclear power, which leads to nuclear weapons. Push for complete global nuclear disarmament through US unilateral initiatives to set the example. Stop 'Star Wars' militarization of space."
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Source: 2006 Congressional National Political Awareness
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