More than 35 former U.S. lawmakers and top officials on Wednesday urged President-elect Barack Obama to work more closely with the United Nations to address nuclear proliferation and other international issues, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Oct. 27).
The next administration should take a lead role in U.N. efforts to respond to nuclear proliferation threats, says a letter submitted to Obama by the U.N. Foundation and the Partnership for a Secure America. Officials who endorsed the statement included former national security advisers Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft and former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Warren Christopher.
Obama national security spokeswoman Brooke Anderson said the president-elect, in a telephone discussion Wednesday with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, "underscored his view that the U.N. requires far-reaching reform and that the United States should rededicate itself to the organization and its mission to more effectively address pressing global issues" (Barry Schweid, Associated Press/Google News, Nov. 20).