Free Republic

With two of out every five member states of the United Nations not yet having paid their dues for 2018, the world body says it has never been so far behind in receiving contributions by this time of the year, and officials are looking for belt-tightening options. Among the 81 countries yet to pay, by far the biggest amount due is the United States’ contribution of $591.3 million, which comprises 22 percent of the total regular budget for 2018. Next up are Brazil ($102.7 million, or 3.8 percent of the budget), Saudi Arabia ($30.8 million, 1.14 percent) and Argentina ($23.9...

MUCH CRITICISM has been leveled at the president's decision to nominate John Bolton as our next ambassador to the United Nations. While equally outspoken intellects like Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Jeane Kirkpatrick were accepted as appropriate for their time, Bolton's bluntness and penchant for courting controversy in a diplomatic quiet zone like the UN, his critics say, make him ''uniquely ill-suited" to the UN's current demographics. This argument misses the forest for the trees. As even Vice President Cheney noted last Friday, Bolton's historic views about the UN and how it functions, combined with his strong ties to President Bush...