John Kerry may have been defeated in the 2004 presidential contest, but his "Global Test" doctrine – which states that America's national security must be administered by the United Nations – lives on.
Last week, in their first piece of legislation since taking the majority, House Democrats outsourced the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) – a key national security program – to the supervision of the United Nations. H.R. 1, a bill to implement the homeland security recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, contained a provision instructing the President to “work with the United Nations Security Council" in order to "authorize the PSI under international law.”
When the minority protested, Representative Jerry Nadler of New York proved once again that congressmen don't read the legislation on which they vote, falsely stating that "this bill has nothing to do with the United Nations."
It's interesting that a party that has yet to offer one constructive policy alternative to strengthen America's security in Iraq is full of ideas for giving the UN more control over our foreign policy.
The PSI is an effective global initiative – not a bureaucratic agency. Because too many nations fail to act responsibly in preventing the sale or manufacture of weapons of mass destruction, the PSI emphasizes interdiction of WMD and related materials. The measure allows governments to act on intelligence in a timely manner to search and seize shipments of WMD materials intended for rogue states or terrorists.
When he announced the creation of the PSI at the G-8 Summit in Poland in 2003, President Bush explained that "when weapons of mass destruction or their components are in transit, we must have the means and authority to seize them.” Preferably before they get to U.S. ports where only a fraction of shipment containers are screened before being placed on trucks and delivered throughout the United States.
The State Department counts sixty nations as supporters of the PSI's interdiction principles. Four of the five permanent members of the Security Council are founding members of the PSI. The program has support from the G-8 and the European Union and, according to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the PSI was responsible for eleven interdictions of WMD materials after only 24 months.
The PSI's success notwithstanding, House Democrats want President Bush to secure Ban Ki-moon's approval before taking action to safeguard the United States.
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