Senator Vitter Leads Assault On UN's Sea Treaty
By Cliff Kincaid
October 1, 2007
Page 4 of 4
Senator Joe Biden, chairman of the committee, did not even show up, probably because he was campaigning for the presidency somewhere. Indeed, only one Democrat, Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, came to the hearing. He became acting chairman in Biden's absence. Senators were restricted to only one round of questions, lasting about seven minutes each. Considering the deficient answers to Vitter's questions, one can now understand why. They did not want the holes and traps in the treaty to be exposed to public view.
Other Republican senators in attendance were Lisa Murkowski, who was preoccupied with the Russian claim to Arctic oil, gas and mineral deposits near her home state of Alaska, and Johnny Isakson of Georgia.
The Russian Power Play
In response to a Murkowski question, Negroponte said the U.S. could not dispute the Russian claim without ratifying the treaty. But this was another false assertion. The U.S. provided information to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf several years ago rebutting a previous Russian claim to the area. Negroponte did not explain what would happen if the U.N. body, once we had ratified the treaty, decided to turn Arctic riches over to the Russians. The answer, of course, is that we would abide by such a disastrous decision, which would cost us access to billions of dollars worth of oil, gas and minerals. That is the precise point I made in my ad.
Another hearing is scheduled for next Thursday, October 4, with seven scheduled witnesses, only two of them critics of the treaty. That will mean, when all of the hearings are concluded, the line-up will be 8-2 in favor of the treaty.
It is apparent that this treaty is being rushed through the Senate, despite the abundant evidence that it will backfire against America and undermine our sovereignty and security. But Senator Vitter has served notice that they are not going to run over him. Americans concerned about their sovereignty and security should thank him profusely.
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Cliff Kincaid is the Editor of Accuracy in Media, and can be contacted at cliff.kincaid@aim.org.
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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA. >> Back -- Page 1 2 3 4
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