An excerpt from an editorial
in the National Catholic Reporter, 28 December 2001

U.S. Ignores True Threats to Peace

....Why is it that the only time we (the United States government) seek consensus around the globe is when we need international support for the next military adventure? The only time we tout international cooperation is when we've got plans to drop bombs somewhere. It is no surprise, then, that hatred of the United States mounts. Meanwhile, the ABM decision, by committing the nation to a unilateralist and new military course, moves the nation's misguided policy to the level of public immorality.

Aside from its highly dubious effectiveness (there is no shortage of scientists who think it a silly venture) the defense shield represents, with all the anticipated hundreds of billions of dollars it will cost, the crowning moment of U.S. unilateralism.

Do you need evidence of Washington's contempt for the hopes and desires of 95 percent of humanity? Consider that the Bush administration has:

  • announced withdrawal from the ABM Treaty;
  • single-handedly brought the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) Review Conference to a halt;
  • renounced international efforts to negotiate a verification protocol to the BWC;
  • abandoned the Kyoto Global Warming Accord;
  • refused to reconsider the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty;
  • rejected the International Criminal Court;
  • discarded the Convention on the Prohibition of Land Mines;
  • gutted the U.N. conference on Small Arms;
  • dismissed the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child; boycotted the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Review Conference in New York;
  • supported a unilateral embargo on Cuba; and
  • plans to place weapons in space.

It is not only the disparity in economic, social and educational opportunities that threatens peace but also a certain arrogance that broadcasts an intent to go it alone when the rest of the world becomes an inconvenience.

Do we really need to wonder why so many beyond our borders view us as a less-than-benign giant?