1. The United States was the only major power that refused to sign the "Kyoto Treaty." This treaty was designed to minimize global pollution and to improve and safeguard the world's environment. We insisted on burning our fossil fuels to support our economy as that was more important than safeguarding our planet's health! 2. The United States refused to sign the "ICC" or the International Criminal Court of Justice. We supported the ad hoc committee to prosecute the Nazi criminals at Nuremberg and the prosecution of Milosevic and the rebels in Rwanda. We support the concept of world peace through world law and yet we refuse to let an American individual (soldier) be prosecuted for crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide by the ICC. The rest of the world is puzzled by our position.
3. The United States recently refused to pay its dues to the United Nations and created the impression that we have little faith in this institution. Sixty percent of Americans support the UN! For a time we disassociated ourselves from UNESCO, but, fortunately, rejoined a short time ago.
4. The United States refused to join the "Land Mine Treaty" stating that we cannot do so because we have a special problem in Korea. Virtually every other nation in the world has signed this treaty.
5. The United States has refused to sign the "Law of the Sea" treaty which declared the Seas, beyond the normal territorial limits, to be the Common Heritage of Mankind. Since we were experts in mining the bottom of the oceans we were unwilling to share these valuable assets with the rest of the world.
6. The United States has refused to sign the "NPT" or Non-Proliferation Treaty. By so doing we have encouraged others to construct nuclear weapons for self-defense. Russia long ago was willing to sign this treaty. With thousands and thousands of nuclear weapons it would seem prudent to declare our willingness to sign the treaty and cease any further production or modification of our nuclear arsenal.
7. The United States has refused to sign the "CTBT" or Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. This would declare our willingness to join the world in an effort to stop all nuclear bomb production and ultimately, if possible, to eliminate this horrendous weapon from the face of this earth. Again, with the strongest nuclear weapons program in the world, it would seem perfectly safe for us to do so at any time. Nuclear disarmament should be our objective!
It is no wonder that the rest of the world does not see usas we see ourselves as a cooperative player on the world's scene, butrather as a selfish and greedy nation unconcerned with the problemsof the rest of the world. We need to alter our foreign policy and dobetter at public relations. We need to divorce ourselves from ourisolationist policy and be more cooperative in solving the problemsof the world. As a relatively young, healthy and wealthy nation weshould take a leading role in solving the problems of the world. Weneed to look beyond ourselves and see how the rest of the worldperceives us! No nation is an island unto itself!
Charles E. Jacobson, Jr.
June 2001
Americanstoday like to think of themselves as a nation of kind and generouspeople who welcome to our shores eligible immigrants from all overthe world. We live in a true democracy with a large and stable middleclass whose success is the envy of the world. We have a sound economyand the strongest military force on the globe. Many of the peoples ofthe Third World think that "our streets are paved with gold," andhave risked their lives to gain admission to our shores. We haveprovided in dollars the greatest amount of humanitarian aid andrelief of all the world's nations, and have acted promptly in timesof natural disasters. France recognized our open arms policy bypresenting us with the Statue of Liberty. Yet, despite these facts,the world perceives us differently, for the following reasons: