Reading the Mark Steyn peace that Schramm recommended yesterday reminded me of one of my greatest frustrations in recent weeks: why are we being faced with the false choice between unilaterlism and the United Nations? In this regard (as well as in many others) I recommend Reflections on a Ravaged Century by one of my favorite historians, Robert Conquest.

Conquest favors multilateralism, as I do, but argues that we ought to establish a new organization to serve as a substitute for the hopelessly corrupt United Nations. He suggests that initially its members would include the U.S., the nations of the British Commonwealth, and many of the republics of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Rim. In other words, it would welcome those states that cherish the ideals of constitutional republicanism and the market economy, and share a set of norms for international behavior. Of course, other states might apply for membership later, if they prove worthy.