Recently elected Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is scheduled to attend the U.N. General Assembly dialogues in New York this week. Noda will be the fourth Japanese prime minister in four consecutive years to attend the conference. A new prime minister has attended the dialogues every year since 2008, due to the high turnover rate of executive leaders in Japan. Although the primary purpose of Noda’s visit is to participate in the U.N. dialogues, Noda’s agenda also includes a separate meeting with President Obama, where they will have a chance …
As the U.N. General Assembly meets this week, arms control and disarmament are likely to be hot topics on the agenda. It is important for the United States not to pursue any means of multilateralism that would damage U.S. national interests, including any agreement to reduce arms. The Obama Administration should not cede any authority to an intensely bureaucratic forum that seeks to limit U.S. capabilities. In his chapter in ConUNdrum, Heritage Senior Research Fellow Baker Spring, argues that any effort to disarm the United States constrains America’s ability to …
Nearly two years into his first term, President Obama has sought a foreign policy that has restrained America’s role on the world stage. Emphasizing a greater commitment to international institutions in handling security concerns, the Administration has relied on multilateral means for achieving this aim, primarily through the United Nations. When attending the U.N. General Assembly, President Obama should keep in mind that multilateralism is only one of many tools in the diplomatic toolbox. This point is emphasized in former Assistant Secretary of State Kim Holmes’s chapter in ConUNdrum, “Smart …
The United States elected 43 presidents before the current occupant graced the office with his presence. We fought, and won, two world wars, liberated millions of people worldwide from tyranny, and worked cooperatively with other sovereign nations to rebuild entire continents. Some might even say the character of our nation is well established considering we have been a democracy for just over 230 years now. Not President Barack Obama, who told the United Nations General Assembly yesterday, “For those who question the character and cause of my nation, I ask …
Earlier today, President Barack Obama addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations. You can read the full transcript here. Experts in foreign policy and international affairs at The Heritage Foundation watched the speech and had plenty of reaction. Here are some highlights: On Reaction at U.N.: “The other U.N. member states have to be beside themselves with glee. President Obama gave them virtually everything they could ask for without demanding anything in return that was not already on the agenda – and which they are prepared to twist to their …
