Churchill was famously said that Democracy was the worst form of government ever invented... except for everything else.
For me the UN has been an oustanding success, in its aim: to get contries to talk instead of fight. If for nothing else the fact that it provided a forum for Stevenson to present the Cuba data before the world would have made it worth while.
In fact I think one would be hardput to find as long a period of peace among major powers as there has been since 1945. While there have been several very blood local wars (iran-Iraq and Etheopia-Eritria) they did not escalate.
Where the UN is trying to extend its sway is to civil war which makes the major powers uncomfortable.
Perhaps its greatest success to date has been the present. Like Charlimaine to the pope, it forced Bush to come to it as it were bare headed.
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U.S. Funding for UN System (CY2001, actuals): $3.5 billion.
Components: Assessments for UN regular budget and UN specialized agencies: $612 million; Assessments for UN peacekeeping: $716 million; Voluntary contributions to UN-affiliated organizations and activities (largely humanitarian programs): $2.2 billion.
The UN system is financed in two ways: assessed and voluntary contributions from member states. The regular two-year budgets of the UN and its specialized agencies are funded by assessments. In the case of the UN, the General Assembly approves the regular budget and determines the assessment for each member. This is broadly based on the relative capacity of each country to pay, as measured by national income statistics, along with other factors.
The General Assembly has established the principle that the UN should not be overly dependent on any one member to finance its operations. Thus, there is a "ceiling" rate, setting the maximum amount any member is assessed for the regular budget. In December 2000, the Assembly agreed to revise the scale of assessments to make them better reflect current global circumstances.
As part of that agreement, the regular budget ceiling was reduced from 25 to 22 percent; this is the rate at which the U.S. is assessed. The U.S. is the only member that pays this rate; all other members assessment rates are lower. Under the scale of assessments adopted in 2000, other major contributors to the regular UN budget for 2001 are Japan (19.6%), Germany (9.8%), France (6.5%), the U.K. (5.6%), Italy (5.1%), Canada (2.6%) and Spain (2.5%).
Special UN programs not included in the regular budget--such as UNICEF, UNDP, UNHCR, and WFP--are financed by voluntary contributions from member governments. In 2002, it is estimated that such contributions from the USG will total approximately $1.6 billion. Much of this is in the form of agricultural commodities donated for afflicted populations, but the majority is financial contributions.
http://www.state.gov/p/io/rls/fs/2002/12955.htm
Or:
The request for the three new tactical aircraft programs that are more appropriate for the Cold War -- F-22, F/A-18E/F and Joint Strike Fighter -- is $12.7 billion.
MAJOR CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS REQUESTS (in millions of dollars)
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FY 2003 FY 2004 WEAPONS PROGRAMS (state of prime contractors in parentheses)
5,374.4 5,170.2 F-22 Air Force Raptor (22 planes made in GA, TX, WA and FL)
3,418.6 3,210.2 F/A-18 E/F Navy Super Hornet - (42 planes made in MA, MO, MD & CA)
3,406.7 4,365.8 JSF Navy-Air Force-Marine Joint Strike Fighter (TX, CT)
1,640.0 1,654.0 V-22 Osprey - (11 aircraft made in TX, PA and IN)
4,430.2 3,686.3 C-17 Air Force airlift aircraft - (11 planes made in CA and CT)
770.0 734.5 C-130J cargo aircraft (5 planes made in GA and IN)
874.0 1,079.3 RAH-66 Army Comanche light helicopter (made in CT, PA, AZ, IN)
924.3 776.7 AH-64 Longbow Apache helicopter (74 helicopters made
in MD)
1,199.1 1,390.3 UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (28 aircraft)
2,624.9 3,404.0 DDG-51 Navy Aegis destroyer - (3 destroyers made in ME and MS)
2,341.5 2,640.5 Virginia class submarine (1 sub made in CT and VA)
855.3 1,525.8 CVN-77 Nimitz Class carrier (1 carrier in VA)
594.3 1,200.0 LPD-17 Navy transport dock ship (1 ship made in LA, ME, CA & AL)
Source: Program Acquisition Cost By Weapons System, Department of Defense Budget for Fiscal Year 2004
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MOST EXPENSIVE WEAPONS SYSTEMS
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(TOTAL PROGRAM COSTS)
Up to $1.2 trillion Layered missile defense
$ 226.5 billion JSF Joint Strike Fighter 2,866 planes
$ 73.4 billion Virginia class submarine 30 subs
$ 69.7 billion F-22 Air Force Raptor 295 planes
$ 66.0 billion DDG-51 Navy AEGIS destroyer 64 ships
$ 59.0 billion C-17 Air Force airlift aircraft180 planes
$ 48.8 billion F/A-18 E/F Navy Super Hornet 548 planes
$ 47.9 billion RAH-66 Army Comanche helicopter1,213 helicopters
$ 46.2 billion V-22 Navy Osprey 458 aircraft
$ 37.5 billion D-5 Navy Trident II missile568 missiles
$ 15.4 billion LPD-17 Navy transport dock ship 12 ships
Source: Selected Acquisition Report, September 30, 2002; Missile defense cost from Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and ECAAR report
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I think the UN is damned cheap