Withdraw from the United Nations?

When deciding whether or not the United States should withdraw from the United Nations, it's important to consider the past experience, as Andrea Seastrand does, but also the future of the United Nations, as The Defense Monitor does. After reading the packet on whether or not the U.S. should withdraw from the United Nations, I agree with The Defense Monitor. The U.S. was a leading country in the organization of the United Nations; how would our country be perceived if we withdrew from an organization we helped to create.

The Defense Monitor listed many ways of reforming the United Nations for efficiency and effectiveness, along with decreasing the military force and spending. One of the ideas was based on collective security; developing international security reduces U.S. spending while international peace and security would increase. Imbalances in U.S. contributions and budgets exist between the Pentagon, U.S. military and UN operations. "This gross imbalance reflects a general inability within the Administration and Congress to recognize that the U.S. can, at a significantly less cost, wield great influence over world events and achieve U.S. policy goals by remaining fully engaged in planning and implementing UN peace operations" (76). If the United Nations developed a "quick reaction force" the U.S. and other nations could decrease their military efforts and expenses. The Defense Monitor argues not only that we should remain a member of the United Nations but we should remain a member of a reformed UN.

The opposing side, Andrea Seastrand takes, argues that the UN is a waste of American life and money, also stating the UN is "inept in reducing conflict and human suffering" and has increased both. If the United Nations was reformed on ideas of security the U.S. would no longer budget national security, which would reduce "wasted" money. Another argument is the 18.4 million, in the taxpayer's dollars, embellishing conference facilities in Africa rather than funding famine. The United Nations isn't the only organization responsible for an instance where a taxpayer's dollars were placed in the wrong hands; they had intended to fund famine. Taking a glance around the world at other countries would reinforce how free America is. There aren't enough arguments made that a reformed United Nations couldn't resolve.