Giuliani M.I.A. on LOST Treaty

http://newsmax.com/insidecover/law_of_the_sea_treaty/2007/10/27/44481.html



Newsmax



Saturday, October 27, 2007 10:01 AM


In a press release, the Coalition to Preserve American Sovereignty acknowledges the growing field of G.O.P. Presidential candidates who publicly have expressed opposition to the Law of the Sea Treaty or LOST. Former NYC mayor and GOP frontrunner Rudy Giuliani is notably missing from the field.



Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, through a statement by his spokesperson published October 26, has become the latest Presidential candidate to oppose LOST, notes the group: "Governor Romney has concerns with the Law of the Sea Treaty. He believes giving unaccountable international institutions more power is a serious problem."


Other Presidential candidates who have recently come out against ratification of LOST, according to the group, include Senator John McCain, former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, Congressman Duncan Hunter, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and Congressman Tom Tancredo.


Senator McCain’s full statement was posted October 25 as follows:


"I’d like to make some changes to it. I think that we need a Law of the Sea. I think it’s important, but I have not frankly looked too carefully at the latest situation as it is, but it would be nice if we had some of the provisions in it. But I do worry a lot about American sovereignty aspects of it, so I would probably vote against it in its present form.


"I would like to see a treaty as far something to bring order, for example, in a place like the Arctic right now, where thanks to climate change, it’s going to be far more important than it was. You watch the Russians asserting their sovereignty over it, and I’d like to see some order out of that chaos. But I’m just too concerned about the aspect of United States sovereignty being handed over to some international organization. (Emphasis added)"


In a posting on his campaign website dated October 24, former Senator Thompson stated:



"I oppose the ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty at this time. The Treaty threatens U.S. sovereignty and gives a U.N.-affiliated organization far too much authority over U.S. interests in international waters. The American people also deserve ironclad assurances that the problems with the treaty highlighted by President Reagan more than two decades ago have been fixed.


"At a time when customary international law in this area has proven sufficient, I believe the efforts of treaty proponents would be better spent reforming the United Nations. Until such reforms are complete, I see little reason for the U.S. to move forward on the Law of the Sea Treaty."


Congressman Hunter made the following statement on LOST, which appeared October 22:


"It is imperative that our nation does not surrender decision making power for military navigation or resource extraction, especially in this age of terrorism with technology and weapons proliferation. And adding a new set of UN bureaucrats with license to tax and adjudicate disputes is the last thing this country needs."


Governor Huckabee has expressed opposition in a series of statements, including during an October 19th appearance on the Glenn Beck show, where he asserted that LOST was:


"…the dumbest thing we’ve ever done. It’s like taking our sovereignty and handing it over to some international tribunal. What’s wrong with us?...the Law of the Sea Treaty essentially would say that the United States would give up certain controls of its territorial waters, it would give up its sovereign understanding of what it can do within its own seas both at the surface and within the depths, and that we would virtually hand ourselves over to an international body of justice."


The website maintained by On The Issues identifies one of Congressman Tancredo’s foreign policy platform components as "Avoid Ratifying Law of the Sea Treaty (September 2007)."


The Coalition to Preserve American Sovereignty commends these candidates for expressing their opposition to LOST, and calls on Presidential candidates from both parties to insist upon a critical evaluation of the Treaty by each of the Senate’s nine relevant committees prior to any vote on this accord by the full body.