The Foreign Service Journal, December 2008

search for a new image of America, and a new role, will be seriously hampered. Conversely, moving publicly and energetically toward greater cooperation with the U.N. would represent a powerful sym- bol of change from current unilat- eral policies. Most Americans instinctively respond positively to the idea of the United Nations, yet many see the organization as ineffective. This attitude is rooted in decades of disappointments over the U.N. not meeting its high goals; a weak popular understanding of what the organi- zation is and is not; an American instinct not to give up any options in foreign policy; inadequate media coverage of the U.N.’s role in the world; and, quite frankly, an histori- cally low appreciation by Americans of the diversity, rich- ness and growing power of other cultures and nations. The new American president’s bully pulpit could, over years, transform this view, by explaining that the United Nations and other international bodies improve U.S. secu- rity, back Washington’s leadership in this ever-more-com- plex world, help polish the often brash American approach to diplomacy, and lead the way toward global solutions to the menaces we face. As we look toward a new era of greater American com- mitment to cooperation with other nations, the new pres- ident will want to devise a genuinely multilateral strategy for the first time since the end of World War II. Such a new strategy will inevitably require working closely with the United Nations and its agencies. President Obama will want to address this new multilateral agenda in three phases. Short Term: Urgent Issues Most of the core foreign policy issues a new U.S. pres- ident must address are now under a U.N. umbrella. This is an unprecedented situation that underscores the inti- mate connection the organization has with the many global priorities so important to the United States. The new administration must prepare immediately for the fol- lowing challenging agenda: Iraq. The decision on a new type of mandate for the U.N.’s role in Iraq and the related new status-of-forces agreement with the Iraqi government governing the U.S. military presence are both unlike- ly to be resolved by Jan. 20, 2009. As the new administration pon- ders Baghdad’s stance toward the eventual drawdown of U.S. troops, it will certainly want to have some recommendations on a new and more important role for the United Nations. For instance, that body is uniquely placed to coordinate a new, more vigorous effort to engage regional powers in a more secure Iraq. Its role in finding a political solution inside that troubled nation should also be expanded. Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The five- year review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty scheduled for 2010 will deal with one of the most impor- tant issues before the next administration. The new administration must begin preparing immediately for this conference. Working with Moscow on this core problem will require Washington to transcend tensions over Rus- sian military action and get back to basics with that other major nuclear power. There is a growing bipartisan sense in the U.S. that major weapons reductions are necessary and possible. If Washington and Moscow can agree on reductions, there are creative new ways to work with other International Atomic Energy Agency member-states to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. The new administration should also urge Congress to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. And, without tearing up the new U.S.-India nu- clear agreement, the incoming administration must give the nuclear-supplier states and the IAEA every opportu- nity to help make this controversial deal fit into a broader strategy for strengthening the nonproliferation regime. Climate Change. Preparations for the December 2009 U.N. conference in Copenhagen on climate change are already advanced. A new U.S. team will have to begin immediately to consult with other states to seek common ground. The sense of urgency on climate change, com- bined with international frustration over the Bush admin- istration’s failure to provide leadership, offers great oppor- tunities. But it also mightily complicates the negotiations. Washington will most certainly have to seek some side deals with China, India and other growing polluters, but ultimately it will have to sign on to restraints far larger F O C U S D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 17 Most Americans instinctively respond positively to the idea of the United Nations, yet many see the organization as ineffective.