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The role and influence of the United States in the United Nations has changed, and even diminished, during the presidency of George W. Bush. Bush has taken a fairly antagonistic stance toward the UN, and the UN has responded in kind.

As one of five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, the United States has veto power over resolutions and actions it deems not in the best interest of the country. Britain, France, China, and Russia hold identical veto power. Before Bush became President, the Security Council was the place we made our wishes and oppositions known.

The rush to war in Iraq changed our relationship to the U.N., and the world, dramatically. Unable to get U.N. authorization for the use of force in Iraq, Bush turned to his "coalition of the willing", a hodgepodge of countries foolhardy enough to trust the intelligence reports we gave them. This soured things with the U.N. to this day.

We have also balked at paying what continues to be an exorbitant percentage of the cost of running the U.N. This has led to calls from some U.S. lawmakers for our immediate withdrawal from the U.N. Such a move is very unlikely, even given all of the problems. We need the U.N., and the U.N. needs us.

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