Joseph A. Klein, CFP United Nations Columnist

UN Plan to Prevent Violent Extremism Ignores its Primary Cause

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is operating from the same playbook as President Obama when it comes to addressing the threat of global jihad. They deny that such a religiously based threat exists. Just like Obama, Ban Ki-moon uses the euphemism “violent extremism,” without linking it to its primary ideological source - Islam. The global terrorist scourge is driven by Islamic supremacy and the jihadist war against the “infidels” that are embedded in sharia law. That is not to say that the jihadists are the only terrorists in the world. However, to diffuse responsibility by contending that violent extremism is found in all faiths ignores the fact that the only global terrorist network threatening our way of life today is bound together by the teachings of Islam.

North Korea and Iran: The Nuclear Duo

North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test on January 6th, which it claimed was a hydrogen bomb. Despite some skepticism as to North Korea’s claim that it had actually tested a hydrogen bomb, the Obama administration acknowledged that North Korea had indeed tested some sort of nuclear device. The administration condemned North Korea’s latest testing as a violation of a series of past United Nations Security Council resolutions.

China’s New Counter-Terrorism Law

China has just passed a new law requiring technology firms to provide “technical means of support” for the government’s counter-terrorism activities, including to help de-crypt information if the government demands them to do so. The firms are also enlisted in efforts to prevent the spread of incendiary materials that could incite acts of terrorism.

Kicking the Can in Syria Down the Road to Damascus

The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a resolution on December 18th which purports to set out a framework and timetable for ending the nearly five year war in Syria and establishing an “inclusive and Syrian-led political process.”

Obama Administration Clears Path for Iran

Iran is already in flagrant violation of its obligations under United Nations Security Council resolutions referenced in the nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed on July 14, 2015 by Iran, the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany. Nevertheless, the Obama administration is making excuses for Iran. It is still on track to reward Iran soon with the freeing up of over $100 billion in frozen assets and the lifting of economic sanctions.

The Parisian Follies

Nearly 200 countries reached consensus in Paris on what President Obama has called an “historic agreement” to combat man-made climate change. Their host, French President Francois Hollande, extolled the work of the negotiators. He said “you will be able to say that on the twelfth of December you were in Paris for the agreement on the climate. And you will be able to be proud to stand before your children and your grandchildren."

President Obama’s Pursuit of a Bad Global Climate Deal

On the heels of his Thanksgiving Day anointment of Syrian refugees as the new Pilgrims, President Obama flew off to Paris for a summit meeting launching the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21). This conference is being heralded as the last opportunity for the world’s nations to come together and deal meaningfully with the deleterious impacts said to be caused by man-made climate change.

Turkey Risks Wider War and Undercuts Fight Against ISIS

While admitting that he was not in possession of all of the facts regarding Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane on November 24th, President Obama was quick to blame only Russia. He said at a joint news conference with French President Francois Hollande that Turkey had “a right to defend its territory and its airspace.”

"Zionism is Racism” Ideology Lives on at the United Nations

At a special event held at United Nations headquarters in New York on November 11th entitled “The battle for Zionism at the United Nations,” the UN commemorated the 40th anniversary of the speech by Israel’s late president and UN ambassador, Chaim Herzog, against the infamous General Assembly Resolution 3379 that equated Zionism to racism.

Alleged Influence Peddling and Image Laundering for Sale at the United Nations

Public corruption can appear in various forms. First, individual office holders may violate the public trust, abusing their positions of authority to peddle influence for money. The public institutions which they are supposed to serve may not be inherently corrupt themselves but they may enable such schemes by virtue of inadequate internal controls. Second, and potentially more pernicious, is institutional corruption.

United Nations Open Border Migration Officials Mock National Sovereignty

At a reception held on October 22, 2015, to honor the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for International Migration, Peter Sutherland, claimed that caps on refugees enforced by certain countries in Europe are “directly reminiscent of the type of caps that took place under the Reich [against] the Jewish population.” This outrageous comparison of good faith attempts to control the tide of mass migration from the Middle East, North Africa and Afghanistan to the plight of Jews during the Holocaust is aimed at browbeating European countries into putting their own citizens in danger to serve a globalist agenda.

United Nations Apologists for Deadly Palestinian Violence

On the same day as Palestinians torched a site containing Joseph’s Tomb in the Palestinian Authority-controlled West Bank city of Nablus, the United Nations Security Council held an “emergency” session to address the escalating violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank. The October 16th meeting was called by Jordan, a non-permanent member of the Security Council.

Corruption Rears its Head Again at the United Nations

In announcing bribery and tax fraud charges last week against former United Nations General Assembly President John Ashe, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said that "John Ashe, the 68th president of the U.N. General Assembly, sold himself and the global institution he led." Moreover, the U.S. Attorney put the UN on notice that his investigation was not over. “We will be asking: Is bribery business-as-usual at the U.N.?” he said.

President Obama Continues Spinning Fantasies at the United Nations

President Barack Obama continued his feckless foreign policy charade at the United Nations yesterday. He chaired what was billed as “The Leaders’ Summit on Countering ISIL and Violent Extremism,” and he met with Cuban President Raul Castro.

President Obama Repeats His Failed Foreign Policy Mantra at the UN

President Obama delivered his annual speech to the United Nations General Assembly on September 28th. He spoke mostly in generalities, with his usual platitudes extolling the benefits of multilateral cooperation, diplomacy and international law rooted in what he called “universal,” “self-evident” truths. He condemned “the belief that power is a zero-sum game; that might makes right; that strong states must impose their will on weaker ones; that the rights of individuals don’t matter; and that in a time of rapid change, order must be imposed by force.”

Pope Francis’s Progressive UN Speech Avoids Confronting Islamic Jihad

Pope Francis addressed the United Nations General Assembly on September 25th. He started out by praising the UN, which is observing its seventieth anniversary this year. He gave credit to the UN for such achievements he described as the “codification and development of international law, the establishment of international norms regarding human rights, advances in humanitarian law, the resolution of numerous conflicts, operations of peace-keeping and reconciliation, and any number of other accomplishments in every area of international activity and endeavour.”

Palestinians Riot on Temple Mount and the UN Provides Them Cover

The phony Palestinian “state” will be honored at the United Nations with the raising of its flag outside of UN headquarters alongside the flags of 193 genuine member states.

United Nations Makes Migrant Crisis Worse with Loose Rhetoric

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon insisted, in a statement released on September 8^th, that European nations open their doors to the many thousands of Middle Easterners and North Africans said to be "fleeing war and violence, who have a right to seek asylum without any form of discrimination." The statement said that he had called the leaders of Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia to emphasize "the individual and collective responsibility of European states to respond responsibly and humanely" to the migration crisis.

No End to Sexual Abuse Allegations Against UN Peacekeepers

The United Nations Security Council issued a press statement on August 18th expressing “outrage and anger” regarding allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse committed by United Nations peacekeepers, including the latest allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse committed in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Stop Throwing Good Money After Bad to UN Palestinian Refugee Agency

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, which serves Palestinian “refugees,” is constantly complaining of budget deficits. No matter how much money it sucks out of the United States, European Union countries and other donors, it is never enough. It is always pleading for more money, which it is continuing to do today with another one of its special appeals. It is time to stop throwing good money after bad to this dysfunctional UN agency.