..Had Al Gore been elected president, the outcome would have likely been different. Gustave Speth, a member of the Clinton-Gore transition team who then was appointed head of the U.N. Development Program, was a strong advocate of U.N. taxing authority, and promoted the scheme during his U.N. tenure.
Bush did even more to confuse the world government crowd. He diffused the anticipated criticism of U.S. aid by announcing a sharp increase in foreign aid over the next three years. European nations made a similar commitment, leading conference officials to claim victory before the conference even convened.
When he spoke to the delegates on Friday, however, Bush made it clear that U.S. aid would no longer be poured down the U.N. rat-hole as it has been in the past. U.S. aid will be placed into a special "Millennium" account, not simply handed over to the U.N. The U.S., not the U.N., will establish the criteria that must be met by developing nations before receiving U.S. aid.
Bush told the delegates that no longer can poverty relief be measured simply by the amount donor nations give. The real measure of poverty relief must be based on the achievements produced by the aid.
Bush made it clear that U.S. aid will go only to countries whose governments exist with the consent of the citizens, that commit to open markets, and that promote the principles of freedom.
U.N. conferences are not accustomed to hearing this kind of talk from a U.S. president. Bill Clinton told the Millennium Summit in 2000 that the time had come for national sovereignty to take a back seat to U.N. activism. Bush invoked U.S. sovereignty by defining the conditions upon which U.S. aid will be granted. And he did it with a smile, and without confrontation...
Bush blocks U.N. tax plan: Henry Lamb praises president for skillful handling of global power grab