new lease on life, at the expense of Americanrntaxpayers.rnMany Americans do not realize justrnhow close the U.N. is to fulfillingrnthe goal set by its first acting SecretaryrnGeneral, communist spy Alger Hiss, ofrnbecoming a full-fledged world state.rnThanks to a federal financial bailoutrnengineered by Senator Helms, the U.N.rnis poised to expand its international campaignrnfor population control, global environmentalism,rnmanaged trade, and militaryrnhegemony. Now operating criminalrntribunals in Bosnia and Rwanda, thernU.N. is also laying the groundwork for anrnInternational Criminal Court whichrncould kidnap Americans off the streets,rnimprison them in foreign jails, and prosecuternthem before judges from China,rnLibya, and Iraq. In such proceedings,rndefendants would have no right to a juryrntrial and no right to face their accusers—rnrights guaranteed to Americans underrnthe U.S. Constitution. With a criminalrncourt in place, the U.N. would only needrnthe power of taxation to have all the essentialrnelements of a world government.rnThe current budget of over $10 billion arnyear could quickly rise to tens of billions,rneven tiillions, with a global tax in place.rnThe most powerful political figurernstanding in the way of world governmentrnhas been Senator Jesse Helms, whomrnmany Americans were counting on tornsave our rights and sovereignty. Ironically,rnhowever. Helms may now go down inrnhistory as the senator who saved thernworld organization from self-destiuction,rnenabling the U.N. to gain valuable timernin which to consolidate and expand itsrnpower.rnSome are already trying to put the bestrnpossible spin on the catastiophe. Writingrnin the Weekly Standard, Fred Barnesrninsisted that Helms had outsmarted Albrightrnand the establishment by gettingrnthe Senate to agree to a package of toughrn”reforms” for the worid body. Helms hadrnsupposedly been clever and shrewd.rnIn fact. Helms and Albright made arndeal to pay a phony “debt” to the worldrnbody under the cover of phony “reform.”rnThere is nothing in this deal to be proudrnof Instead, it represents total capitulationrnto the notion that our future as a nationrnrests in a world managed by unelectedrninternational bureaucrats and globalrnelites. It provides them money that theyrndon’t deserve and that we don’t owe.rnThe details surrounding the storyrndemonstrate how a long-time hero ofrnconservatives can be compromised tornserve the interests of the foreign policyrnestablishment. Barnes himself alluded tornthe switch, noting that Henry Kissinger,rnonce an archenemy of Helms, had campaignedrnfor him in 1996. But Barnesrntried to insist that Helms had securedrnsupport without changing his politicalrnposition.rnUnfortunately, many of SenatorrnHelms’s constitiients and associates haverntold me that the senator has changed.rnAge may be a factor, but explanationsrnvary. Some say it’s because he doesn’trnwant to go down in history as an obstiuctionist.rnOthers say that he made a dealrnwith the Clinton White House becausernhe didn’t want his Senate Foreign RelationsrnCommittee to be cut out of thernprocess of managing foreign affairs legislation.rnIn any event. Helms has a new staff,rnsome of whom are arrogant, inaccessible,rnand suspiciously “moderate.” This isrnnot to say that Helms has suddenly becomerna liberal. After all, he fought thernchemical weapons treaty and the nominationrnof William Weld as ambassadorrnto Mexico. He can be expected to battlernthe proposed International CriminalrnCourt. But on the issue of the U.N.’s immediaternand long-term survival, “SenatorrnNo” became “Senator Yes.”rnThe explanation for this turnaroundrnmay lie, in part, in his contioversial personalrnrelationship with Albright, whornserved as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.rnHis dealings with Albright have beenrnone of the most talked-about and disturbingrntopics of the year. For whatever reason,rnboth Helms and Albright decidedrnthey should work together, especially onrnthe U.N. problem. ITiis alliance camernin handy for Albright because of revelationsrnthat she misrepresented her familyrnhistory, including her Jewish past. Writingrnin The Forward, a Jewish paper, E.V.rnKontorovich said Albright lied about herrnJewish background because “she preferredrnit not to be true.” Although herrnJewish background did not becomernwidely known until after her confirmationrnas Secretary of State, many in Washingtonrnknew about her deception.rnBut because Albright is a woman, andrnbecause Helms accepted her dubiousrn”anticommunist” credentials, this controversyrnwas ignored and she was confirmedrnto the post, becoming the firstrnfemale U.S. Secretary of State. Shernpromptly announced that she wouldrnpush for ratification of the feminist Conventionrnon the Elimination of All Formsrnof Discrimination Against Womenrn(CEDAW), a U.N. treaty which wouldrnmandate government regulation of therneconomy in the name of women’s rights.rnHowever, Albright’s main mission hasrnbeen to save the U.N. from financial ruin.rnIn this crusade. Helms has been herrnwilling partner.rnThe timing was critical: for the firstrntime in its history, the U.N. stood on thernbrink of financial bankruptcy in 1996.rnWaste, fraud, and abuse had reached Sovietrnproportions. The Clinton WhiternHouse had decided to make Secretary-rnGeneral Boutios Boutios-Ghali into thernscapegoat, calling for his ouster. Helmsrnhad written an article in Foreign Affairs,rnthe house journal of the Council on ForeignrnRelations, threatening to lead arncampaign for America’s withdrawal fromrnthe world body unless major changesrnwere made. Helms had also condemnedrnU.N. attempts to build a world army andrnimpose global taxes. “As it currently operates,”rnHelms argued, “the United Nationsrndoes not deserve continued Americanrnsupport.”rnThese were tough words. But theyrnwere not matched by tough action.rnBoutios-Ghali was evicted but replacedrnby another veteran U.N. bureaucrat,rnKofi Annan of Ghana. Annan’s recordrnwas even more despicable. Annan wasrnthe U.N. director of peacekeeping whornhelped mastermind and supervise thernU.N.’s 1993 Somalia mission that killedrn18 American soldiers and left 84 wounded.rnAnnan also presided over the Bosniarnfiasco, which resulted in NATO takingrnover for the U.N.rnMiraculously, however, Annan becamernU.N. Secretary-General and wasrnhailed as a “proven reformer” by PresidentrnClinton. Helms seemed to buy it,rneven though Annan had hired the notoriousrnMaurice Stiong as his special assistantrnon reform. Strong, another veteranrnU.N. bureaucrat, was a public advocaternof global taxes whose idea was to consolidaternU.N. operations and thereby makernthem stionger in the long run.rnEventually, two reform plans werernoffered —one by Annan and one byrnHelms. The Annan plan, reflectingrnStiong’s influence, was designed, in thernwords of Senator Rod Grams of Minnesota,rnto reshuffle the cards in a deckrnthat remained as big as ever. Even thernWashington Post called the plan “unremarkable.”rnBoth plans required thernU.N. to cut 1,000 positions —a far cryrnfrom Helms’ original call for a 50 per-rn44/CHRONICLESrnrnrn