UN WANTS CONTROL
OF THE SEAS WITH US SENATE'S HELP
By Tom DeWeese March 30,
2004 NewsWithViews.com
Soon after taking office in January 1981,
President Ronald Reagan and several of his key advisors were working through
a mound of policy matters that had spilled over from the Carter
Administration. One of those issues concerned the signing of the United
Nations new Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST).
As the advisors talked among
themselves debating whether the administration should sign the treaty as it
stood or demand changes, the President sat by silently and listened. With
the debate raging, suddenly the President's voice was heard to say, "Isn't
that what it was all about?"
Debate stopped as everyone looked over to
the President. "What, sir?" Reagan then repeated his statement. "Isn't that
what it was all about -- the election? Doesn't it mean that we dont have tto
sign these things?"
The group realized that President Reagan had just
cut through all of the debate and stated the real issue. His administration
had been elected to defend American sovereignty and independence, and that
changes in a bad treaty didn't have to be negotiated. He could just refuse
to sign and kill it right then and there. Ronald Reagan understood that he
was the President of the United States and not a captive of someone elses
power grab.
And the Law of the Sea Treaty remained justifiably dead for
the next 12 years until Bill Clinton pulled it out of the trash bin, dusted
it off and signed it. Then, in the spirit of Reagan, a courageous Senator
Jesse Helms, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, bottled it
up until the Clintonistas were driven from power.
But today there is
no Ronald Reagan and no Jesse Helms, and so the Law of the Sea Treaty has
again reared its ugly head and now stands on the verge of passage in the
Senate under the forceful hand of Republican Senator Richard Lugar, the
current Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Worse, Lugar is aided
in his quest by a hapless Bush Administration.
After unanimously passing
the Treaty out of committee, the pressure is on to give it "unanimous
consent," meaning there will be no official vote to ratify the treaty; no
record of support or opposition; no one to blame when its over. The treaty
will just become the law of the land -- no muss, no fuss. Business as usual.
Senators like to hide from thhe people that way. It makes life so much
easier for them.
For the record, here are just a few of the reasons why
Ronald Reagan, Jesse Helms and those loyal to the American ideal believe the
United States should never be a party to the Law of the Sea Treaty.
Freedom of the seas has been the guiding principle recognized by
sovereign nations since ancient times. It means all nations recognize that
ships, government owned or private, are free to sail the seas wherever they
like, carrying their cargoes to ports of call for free trade among nations.
Freedom of the seas also means the right to mine and fish the resources of
the seas, unhindered.
Nations have traditionally claimed a slim line
along their coasts as sovereign territory for protection of national
interests and defense. Three miles out from shore has been the traditional
limit recognized by nations. That distance used to represent the range of a
cannon on shore. Any waters outside such limited claims have been understood
to be free of control. The rights of individuals and private companies to
use the seas for pleasure and commerce has been unquestioned.
That's
all about to change. In the name of "social equity," a euphemism for
"redistribution of the wealth," the UN's Law of the Sea Treaty will replace
the freedom of the seas concept with central control from an international
body, specifically the United Nations. Under UN control a new supranational
agency has been created called the Seabed Authority.
The Seabed
Authority is organized identically to the UN General Assembly using the one
nation, one vote model. That means that numerous, tiny Third World nations
can organize a block of votes hostile to the United States and other
industrial nations. Such a setup has created an unworkable situation in the
General Assembly and it's why that body achieves very little of worthwhile
substance. Now, the same gridlock expects to rule the seas of the world.
The Seabed Authority will have the power to regulate all the seas --
roughlly seven-tenths of the worlds surface area. It will have the sole
power to issue permits for fishing and mining and drilling operations under
the surface. It can fix prices of sea products and impose quotas on how much
is produced. It can levy international taxes and impose production quotas on
deep-sea mining and oil production; control ocean research and exploration;
and create a multinational court to enforce its dictates. Don't be surprised
to see Seabed Authority ships plying the waters, stalking ships, and mining
and drilling operations it deems in violation of its authority.
The
Seabed Authority can force governments and private companies to file for
permits and impose fees and it can delay production for years. Yet, in the
end, after charging up to a million dollars for permit fees, there is
nothing in the Treaty that requires the Authority to EVER issue even a
single permit. In addition, the provisions establishing the Authority gives
it the power to set up its own mining and drilling activities, and compete
right next to private efforts. That provision alone should set off alarm
bells concerning the fairness of permit decisions.
The revenues
raised by the Seabed Authority make it a powerful force that will likely be
controlled by the Third World block. This new wealth and power may lead to
the establishment of a cartel of sorts where the Third World nations could
control all assets of the seas for their own interests, leaving developed
nations at their mercy.
Under the Law of the Sea Treaty, U.S. national
defense interests would be dangerously threatened as several provisions of
the treaty would prevent inspection or boarding of suspected terrorist
ships. When the U.S. invaded Afghanistan after the 9-11 terrorist attacks,
several ships controlled by al Qaeda were seen fleeing the area and were
chased down and boarded by U.S. war ships. Equipment, weapons and the
terrorists who owned them were apprehended.
Yet the treaty offers still
more of a threat to our national interests. It demands that nations share
information with all others concerning sea exploration. This provision
constitutes a mandatory technology transfer and can include military secrets
such as submarine detection techniques.
The most dangerous aspect of the
treaty has nothing to do with the seas, however. Rather, the danger lies
with the United Nations gaining the authority to impose taxes through the
Seabed Authority. The UN is basically a club. It has private members who pay
voluntary dues. Only governments have the power to tax, operate a court
system or field armies. If the UN gains the power to tax through the Law of
the Sea Treaty, the cat is out of the bag. There can then be no stopping any
of hundreds of taxing schemes now floating around the UN. The UN has already
established its own criminal court. Given the ability to tax, it will be two
thirds on the way to becoming the global government of its dreams.
The Law of the Sea Treaty is clearly a massive threat to the sovereignty
and independence of the United States and our private companies operating
internationally. Is it any wonder why Senator Lugar is putting pressure on
Senate Majority Leader Frist to push the treaty through without debate and
without a recorded vote. He wants none of these facts to get a public
airing.
The treaty has been reborn because a massive lobbying effort has
been waged by those who seek UN global governance. Environmental groups
stand to gain incredible power to block oil drilling and mining.
International corporations think it will be easier to deal with one central
power than with multiple foreign countries. Several oil and mineral
companies think they can use the treaty to gain their own form of power and
cut their competition. They play to get theirs at the expense of everyone
else. It's an old game played on Capitol Hill. All of them will find in the
end that theyve played a costly hand indeed.
The fight over the Law of
the Sea Treaty is really an ancient one between those who believe in the
concepts of private property and free markets and those who cant conceive of
anything not being controlled by government.
The seas have been free for
the entire history of mankind, except when controlled by a dictator. Weve
fought pirates and Hitler to keep them open. Why would we now surrender that
freedom to mindless, faceless bureaucrats who covet power and care nothing
for our rights?
The actions of Senator Lugar and his cohorts defy
comprehension by reasonable Americans. Yet so far, Americans have remained
silent while the Law of the Sea Treaty is being slipped through to stealth
ratification. Our senators are sending the message that they don't need you
in the process. They don't feel the need to hear from you. Instead, they
want to cater to the wants of a powerful lobby.
Will we let them get
away with it? Will we see this massive piece of our liberty drown in the
seas while we do nothing -- again? A massive outcry of NOO now will stop it.
It just requires one phone call to your United States Senator. Heres the
number: 202-224-3121. Call it and stop the Law of the Sea Treaty and keep
the seas of the world open and free ? as theyyve always been.
Tom DeWeese is the publisher/editor of The
DeWeese Report and president of the American Policy Center, an activist,
grassroots think tank headquartered in Warrenton, VA. The Center maintains
an Internet site at www.americanpolicy.org.
E-Mail: apc@americanpolicy.org
"But
today there is no Ronald Reagan and no Jesse Helms, and so the Law of the
Sea Treaty has again reared its ugly head and now stands on the verge of
passage in the Senate under the forceful hand of Republican Senator Richard
Lugar..." _______________________________________________ This list is
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