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| Who Are Terrorists? |
UN Specialist Kawabe Ichiro continued his series of
onboard lectures with "Who Are Terrorists?" a look at how the United
States' international policy has had a negative impact on its image
abroad.
He began by describing why America is constantly scrutinized on the
world scene; one reason he cited is the country's economic dominance.
He explained that if a nation such as China were to become the world's
economic leader, the Chinese would suddenly find themselves faced
with global criticism across the entire range of the country's policies.
Ichiro also faulted the lack of a common global image of what an "average
American" is, due to the hodge-podge of races living in the country.
He explained that when people all over the world think of a "Japanese
person," a certain image comes to mind, and the same is true for many
countries, including France, Germany, and Great Britain.
Ichiro then described a long series of U.S. policy decisions, which
while consistent with policies at the national level, have darkened
its image on the global scene, especially in connection with the United
Nations. He described how America has constantly butted heads with
the international community over population programs, which seek to
limit the world's exploding population and resulting drain on resources
by limiting family sizes through various means. The country's strong
religious roots have long made issues such as abortion and birth control
very sensitive within its borders at home, and this has caused major
friction in international dealings - the United States has flatly
refused to pay off debts owed to the UN in protest over such programs.
Ichiro described the United States' long and well-documented history
of sending weapons to support foreign troops which help its interests
abroad, and how this policy has come up against UN policies seeking
to limit illicit trade in firearms. He described how the United States
has waffled on the issue of war crimes tribunals, alternately supporting
the prosecution of foreign government officials in countries such
as Bosnia and opposing being subjected to similar jurisdiction, in
part because as the "Commander-in-Chief" of the U.S. armed forces,
the President is potentially liable if any wrongdoing was to be found.
He shared statistics, painstakingly gathered by hand in over 30 years
of research, which showed that the United States, starting with the
Reagan Administration in the early 1980's, has consistently opposed
far more UN Resolutions than any other country.
Ichiro ended his lecture with a comparison between the ideologies
behind the League of Nations and the United Nations. The League of
Nations, an idea conceived by American President Woodrow Wilson, was
formed in the wake of horrible destruction in Europe and favored a
policy of achieving peace by reducing troops to minimum levels worldwide.
Ironically the United States Congress never approved the country's
entrance into the organization, opting to back the more military-minded
United Nations (which contains the word "disarmament" only twice in
its charter) instead. |
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| Tokyo-Shingapore
/ Peace Boat's 36th Voyage |
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PEACE BOAT is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. |
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