Dozens Of U.S. Troops Still Serving The U.N. By Cliff Kincaid A top defense department official says that when President Bush said he would never put U.S. troops under United Nations command, he really meant that he was against a "massive number" of troops serving the U.N. Dale Klein, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Chemical and Biological Defense Programs, was appearing on C-SPAN when a caller asked why dozens of U.S. troops were still under U.N. command on seven U.N. military missions. "My understanding of President Bush´s concern was not to have a massive number of our troops employed under a U.N. command," he said. Yet Bush and the 2000 Republican platform said the president would not put one U.S. soldier under U.N. command. "I will never place U.S. troops under UN command," he said. U.N. figures as of September 2002 – more than a year and one-half into the Bush presidency – show that 32 American soldiers are serving as U.N. military observers or U.N. combat soldiers in so-called "Blue Helmet" U.N. missions. They are called "Blue Helmet" missions because our soldiers have to wear a U.N. beret or helmet and a U.N. insignia on their uniforms. A foreign military officer or official is in charge of every one of these missions. This figure represents only a slight reduction from January 2001, when Bush took office and 44 American G.I.´s were serving as U.N. military observers or combat soldiers. Hundreds of Americans are serving as U.N. police around the world but it´s not clear how many, if any, are U.S. soldiers. Revelations about U.S. troops serving the U.N. under Bush have caught many commentators by surprise. On the Judicial Watch radio show, host Russ Verney noted that Bush wants the U.N. to give us the right to use our own soldiers to attack Iraq while he is assigning U.S. soldiers to U.N. military missions for the benefit of the world body. It´s a confusing and contradictory policy. DoD official Klein, who reinterpreted the Bush campaign promise against U.S. troops serving the U.N., is a former University of Texas professor married to Rebecca Klein, who served as Policy Director of General Government under Governor George W. Bush.              Printer-friendly version Click here to be added to our mailing list.