WASHINGTON, D.C.: Viewing with alarm the prospect that a U.N. apologist might be appointed as U.S. Ambassador to the world body, a group of policy activists and scholars have come together to urge President-elect George W. Bush to name Ambassador Frank Ruddy to the important post.
Ruddy, an international lawyer who has worked with the U.N. in the past, has the experience, credentials and character to represent the U.S. effectively at the international organization. He is a conservative who believes in reforming the U.N. and moving the organization away from grand visions of "global governance."
The Committee for American Leadership at the U.N. announced its support for Ruddy after press reports indicated that President-elect Bush is under pressure from the U.N. lobby to appoint former Congressman Lee Hamilton or former diplomat John Whitehead to the position. Both men are associated with the United Nations Association (UNA-USA), the premier pro-U.N. lobby in the U.S. which favors giving the world body the powers of a world government.
"Ambassador Ruddy will not sacrifice our sovereignty at the U.N.," said Cliff Kincaid, a member of the committee. "He will reform the organization by making sure American interests are respected, not ridiculed or trampled." Kincaid, a veteran journalist, runs America's Survival, a public policy group. Another member of the committee is Tom DeWeese, president of the American Policy Center, who has been the leader of a nationwide grassroots efforts to expose and defeat pro-world government plans at the world body.
Ruddy was the Deputy Chairman of a U.N. Peacekeeping Referendum for the Western Sahara in 1994. He has testified about the problems and flaws in U.N. operations worldwide.
Hamilton is a Democrat and former member of the House International Relations Committee. Whitehead served in the State Department. Hamilton was elected to the board of the UNA-USA in 1999, while Whitehead has been vice-chair of the group.
Ambassador Frank Ruddy, by contrast, is independent of the U.N. lobby and has testified before the U.S. Congress on U.N. corruption. He is not afraid to shake things up in a bureaucracy as large and complex as the U.N. Ruddy's career has also included serving as general counsel for the U.S. Department of Energy; U.S. Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea; and assistant administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The telephone number for the Bush-Cheney Transition Office is 202-513-7400. The FAX number for the policy department is 201-513-7533.

Committee for American Leadership at the U.N. 301-855-2679