Congressional critics demand more drastic staff cuts than the reductions and reorganization already being undertaken by Secretary General Kofi Anan. They have sought to enforce these demands by reducing funds for both regular and peacekeeping operations. As noted, Senator Helms has gone so far as to propose that the United States leave the UN if the drastic conditions he has set forth in detail are not met. These conditions are now contained in the Helms-Biden bill. Yet, in spite of opposition in the Congress and on America's political right, the basic situation in which the UN operates today is far from hopeless.
Polls indicate that even in the United States two-thirds of the population support the world body.
Moreover, worldwide improvement in communications and access to the news media may be helping to create a global village in a news sense. On recent trips to Europe, I myself have observed people watching the news on CNN and other stations much as we do. This exposes them to the same view of events in Bosnia and other trouble spots as are Americans, and they react in much the same way. That is, something must be done to correct the dire situations that they see depicted on television. Usually, this comes back eventually to reliance on the United Nations.