Political Quotes

“I very much wanted to address this issue this evening in order to get into the Record, for the benefits of our colleagues and their staffs, the importance of this issue. This amendment has consequences that are not apparent upon first glance. It is not clear when you first look at it that the standard is really not an appropriate one. These are not just the important votes on which the United States takes a strong position. Some of these countries which have low overall scores go well above 50 percent on the important votes that come before the United Nations. I am not even sure the important votes are a proper standard, because you are still not looking at what the bilateral relationship is with these countries. Even on the important votes, there are a number of instances where the United States was supported only by two or three other countries, and two votes where the United States was entirely alone. Some of the countries that would be affected by this amendment are extremely critical to initiatives which the United States is taking at this very moment. Morocco and Tunisia are perfect examples of that right now.”