future united states war with the u.n?

Originally posted by RedDragon
i dont see it happening. if the un went to war with the us where would their funds come? we pratically are the un

Originally posted by Xerrog

I wouldn't be the least bit upset if we demolished that building.

Even less upset if we did it with all the politicians inside.

Originally posted by Cynic

Right. This might be true after the US pays all the arrears dues they owe. It may be headquarted in New York, but the rest of the world is paying the bills.

"Ever since the U.N. was created in 1945, the United States has been its biggest contributor. The United States currently contributes 22 percent of the U.N.'s regular budget. In contrast, France contributes 6.4 percent, Britain 5.54 percent, China 1.53 percent, and Russia 1.2 percent. Three nations--the United States, Japan, and Germany--contribute a disproportionately large amount of money to the U.N. regular budget: 51.3 percent of the total.6

Moreover, despite its high level of funding for the U.N., the United States is underrepresented in terms of U.N. personnel. American citizens make up just 7.2 percent of the total.7

U.S. contributions to the U.N. system in 2001 totaled $3.5 billion, including $612 million in assessed contributions to the U.N. regular budget, $712 million toward U.N. peacekeeping, and $2.2 billion in voluntary contributions.8

In the past decade, the U.S. has spent substantial sums of money supporting United Nations peacekeeping operations worldwide. According to the U.S. General Accounting Office, the Department of State and Department of Defense gave the U.N. $3.45 billion in direct contributions to conduct peacekeeping operations between 1996 and 2001.9 This figure is dwarfed by the estimated $24.2 billion in indirect contributions10 made by the U.S. government to help support 33 U.N. peacekeeping operations in 28 countries during that five-year period."

6. Figures cited in Vita Bite, "UN System Funding: Congressional Issues," Congressional Research Service, September 10, 2003.

7. U.S. General Accounting Office, United Nations: Targeted Strategies Could Help Boost U.S. Representation, GAO-01-839, July 2001, p. 12.

8. Ibid. Voluntary contributions go toward specialist U.N. programs such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Development Program.

9. U.S. General Accounting Office, U.N. Peacekeeping: Estimated U.S. Contributions, Fiscal Years 1996-2001, GAO-02-294, February 2002.

10. The GAO defines indirect contributions as "U.S. programs and activities that (1) are located in the same area as an ongoing U.N. peacekeeping operation, (2) have objectives that help the peacekeeping operation achieve its mandated objectives, and (3) are not an official part of the UN operation." Ibid., p. 5.

Originally posted by exsmokingman
elsewhere. money is largely an illusion. you sound supremely confident, you'll be in the front rank then i guess.