LAW OF THE SEA TREATY, PART 3

The United Nations' decades-old scheme to set up an international authority to tax Americans at the same time they take control of over 70 percent of the Earth's surface -- the Law of the Sea Treaty -- is getting a lot of attention in Washington. That attention is what we fought to achieve, and it is exactly what the internationalists behind Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) wanted to avoid. They hoped to sneak this flawed treaty through the Senate while no one was looking.

Since our last update, March 16, 2004, both the Senate Committee on Armed Services and the House Committee on International Relations have held hearings on LOST. Congressman Ron Paul and 13 of his House colleagues sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist pointing out threats to American sovereignty and national security problems contained in this "terribly flawed treaty." The Bookings Institution sponsored a briefing.

The gloves are off! Pro-LOST forces are fighting back with display ads in Capitol Hill newspapers urging ratification of LOST. Pro-LOST lobbyists have picked up their pace in the halls of Congress. House members who favor LOST have circulated a letter urging quick ratification by the Senate, and the pro-U.N. Citizens for Global Solutions (formerly known as the World Federalist Society) is pushing hard for ratification.

Hearing first hand what the pro-LOST forces said in their formal presentations, as well as overhearing some "off-the-record" comments, I can tell you that they are not happy. They expected the Senate to have quietly ratified LOST by now. They never expected Americans who live outside Washington's Beltway to know what was going on and get in their way.

What you do matters! Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has yet to schedule a vote on ratification of LOST, but "Frist spokeswoman Amy Call said the Senate leader might schedule a ratification vote if it could be handled 'quickly and easily.'" (The Washington Post, April 25, 2004) Our job, of course, is to make sure a ratification vote is neither quick nor easy -- and if held, fails.

Our sources in the U.S. Senate are alert for a short-notice, midnight vote to try to slip LOST through the back door. We'll let you know as soon as we hear anything. In the meantime, don't let up on the pressure. Those same Senate sources have asked us to continue urging our U.S. senators to oppose ratification as a countermeasure to the pro-LOST campaign.

Learn why, as Steve Forbes recently wrote, "Sensible senators should strangle this resurrected beast." Then, take action to counter the pro-LOST propaganda. Go to http://www.thelibertycommittee.org/lost.htm

How about the right to transit our warships over UN waters? Eventually, the UN will assert the right to control that. In addition, we have the right now to exploit mineral resources almost anywhere in the Ocean. Our technology is far advanced over other countries. We give that up entirely in doing so. Also, it lets other countries exclude our fishing boats up to 300 miles from their shores.

But most important, it gives power to the UN. It gives money to the UN. The UN is an evil organization that is directly hostile to the interests of the US. My desire is to see the UN abolished. Giving it power and money is the wrong thing to do.

After the oil-for-fraud debacle, it is hard to imagine anyone wanting to let the UN have any power or money to administer. It'll be the fish-for-fraud program.

agreed on 2 items:

1) the UN is bad news
2) We should exit the UN (if others want to retain the UN so be it)

but disagree on the others

3) We have 100% rights within OUR 200 mile limit. Other nations have 100% rights within THEIR 200 mile limit. Note which nations end up having the biggest areas under the Law of the Sea (Britain, New Zealand, Austraila, Norway, Canada & USA) The good guys get the Lion's share of the Sea's resources

4) Law of Sea does not restrict US Navy's right of passage.

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