Does buchanan want the U.S. to get out of the UN? (Letters to the Editor).

This pertains to one specific aspect of Don Anderson's May 20th "Letter To The Editor." It commented on Larry Greenley's article, "Can America Be Saved?" (which dealt with Pat Buchanan's book, The Death of the West). Mr. Anderson appears to have assumed, as I once did, and as many of your readers may assume, that Buchanan wants us out of the United Nations. This assumption is probably based on his stump speech rhetoric about the emerging new world order, a phrase then in political play. "When my right hand goes up to take the oath of office," he would say, "that whole thing will come crashing down."

I must report, however, that, Buchanan said he wanted to stay in the UN when he responded to a question at a presidential campaign rally at the Ramada Inn in 1996 in Montvale, N.J., near my former home. He said it was critical that we keep our seat on the UN Security Council. He explained something about the Soviet Union years earlier having suffered a foreign policy setback of some sort because it had not participated in the Security Council for a while. I confess that I do not know the history I believe he referred to. In retrospect, it appears Buchanan draws a distinction between the UN, as presently constituted, and the new world order, yet to be perfected under a UN substantially remade for global governance.

In addition to the revelation Buchanan offered, the event was memorable for me for a few personal reasons, so I am as confident as one can be about what I recall. I had arrived very early for the event, and as I stood at the lobby's far side, I was struck by the sympathetic scene of Pat, his wife, and his sister pushing through the front doors after a flight from D.C. to Newark on a rainy, cold evening. They were tired, wet, and confused about where to go, for no one came forward to greet them. In killing time, I had already discovered the yet unoccupied meeting room, so, wanting to help this poor troupe, I just beckoned them toward me. Pat strode over, willing to resort even to ...