Kathleen Agena
LETTER FROM THE U.N.
History has a peculiar way of reversing itself in the vicin–
ity of the United Nations . Most of the nations represented there–
whatever their professed ideologies-are military governments in
which there is no orderly and peaceable system for transferring or
checking power, no free press, no independent interest groups or
unions, no jockeying for power between political parties. Yet inside
the U .N . 's conference rooms and assembly halls, rhetoric displaces
reality. Officials from repressive and brutal regimes are transformed
into the champions of "peace" and "universal humanity."
It
is largely because the U.S. has failed to recognize, or take
seriously, the prevailing power of these fabrications that it has fared
so badly at the U.N. This was at no time more evident than during
the special session on disarmament held last summer, when in sev–
eral instances the U.S. damaged its image simply by dismissing, too
facilely, the power of prevailing ideological forces.
First, there was President Reagan's speech itself, which was
largely a rehash of previously announced arms control proposals
laced with anti-Soviet invectives. In terms of their substance, the
proposals were genuine and solid initiatives-including the elimina–
tion of intermediate-range missiles , a one-third reduction in NATO
and Warsaw Pact ground and air forces, safeguards to reduce the
risk of accidental war, negotiations on reducing strategic nuclear
arsenals, US. -Soviet reciprocal advance notification of major strate–
gic exercises, ICBM launches, and more exchange of strategic forces
data- bu t mere substance is not enough at the U .N ., and Reagan's
speech was generally dismissed by the delegates as "disappointing"
and "disheartening." Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko , on
the other hand, brought a new, unilateral" no first use" pledge from
President Brezhnev, which was greeted by loud and prolonged
applause in the Assembly Hall. Seated in the U.N .'s press room
during the Gromyko speech, I turned to a Pakistani journalist sitting
next to me and said, "How will we know if he means it? " Smiling
broadly, the Pakistani declared, "Whether he means it or not , he
said
it!"
Even the fact that the Soviet Union set off an unprecedented
series of nuclear tests a few days following Gromyko's speech did
