While Ambassador Nagy's past work deserves applause and thanks, his column (which was published online Sept. 28) on the United Nations is a self-fulfilling prophecy of why the UN fails to live up to its founding promise.
I do not pretend to know as much as a Senate-confirmed State Department official, but I do have a master's degree in International Affairs and want to offer a thoughtful critique.
Many observers, the Ambassador included, believe the United Nations Security Council and UN at-large have outlived their usefulness.
But there is still an important place for the UN and the UNSC on the world stage; it just might not be as an actor. Rather, U.S. officials need to see the UN as a forum and a resource.
The UN does not need to be the mechanism
through which the U.S., or other countries, direct strategic initiatives. The UN should be used as a gathering place and be appreciated for its gathering power. Countries continue to attend UN General Assembly meetings year after year, and its power as a resource is important as it has standing communication with every major, internationally recognized country. By the Ambassador's own account, the real action happens in the margins and in bilats. That is where communication is heightened and seeds for future agreements are sown. This alone is worth our tax dollars.
The UN and UNSC are still navigable institutions sought out by member states.
Despite its seeming lack of effectiveness over the past decade, it still serves a purpose if the U.S. will reimagine its relationship with the UN. The good news is U.S. policy makers do not need to reinvent the geopolitical wheel.
Rather, they should reimagine how to drive the car the wheels are on. Long live High Level Week. - Teague Broquard, Lubbock
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This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock letter writer responds to Tibor Nagy column on U.N. diplomacy
