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2005 World Citizen Essay Contest
Sponsored
by Thank you to the over 220 students who submitted essays and the 40 judges who spent the time reading them all. A special congratulations to the following students, our top finalists in each category. Essay contest winners were celebrated at the Mary Robinson lecture on June 16, 2005.
Peace Through
Education “Upon the education of the people of this country the fate of this country depends.” Benjamin Disraeli, Britain’s first and only Jewish Prime Minister made this statement in the 1800s and we could say the same of the world today. In my opinion, the fate of the world depends on the education of the people. My international issue is the need for education, especially regarding the United States and the Middle East. The problem is twofold. The first part of the problem is that on the television news, on the radio and in the newspaper we hear about young Muslims in the Middle East being trained to hate people in the West, especially Americans. We are told they are trained to want jihad, or holy war. Even though they may not know any Americans personally, they are being taught to hate us. These stories and images frighten many Americans, which is the second part of my problem. We Americans start making generalizations and think that all young Muslims are terrorists in training. If I were the U.S. Secretary of State with the job of creating a more secure, democratic and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community, I would promote programs that educate young people in America and in the Middle East about each other as human beings, and about each of our cultures. I would endorse programs that are currently supported by the U.S. Department of State like the Fulbright Program, the International Visitor Leadership Program, Humphrey Fellowships and Culture Connect to name a few. Most of these programs give grants to adults such as scholars, teachers and administrators to visit or live in another country and learn about their culture and share our culture with them. There are some programs that send young people, usually teenagers, to foreign countries for educational or cultural purposes. I would like to develop programs that target an even younger audience. This kind of program would not physically send anyone to a foreign country, because parents would not want to send their young children to places that are potentially unsafe. My plan would link children from different countries through various forms of advanced communication technology. A program I would be interested in developing could be similar to “pen pals” but the participants would send video clips to each other via the internet, sharing images of daily activities such as practicing music, playing sports or doing schoolwork. This way, kids could get to know each other personally and learn about each other’s cultures and lives. The program could use video cameras attached to computers that transfer the images to an adjoining computer. The people that are communicating would have an interpreter in the room because they would be speaking in two different languages. They could talk and share personal stories. I would target a young audience because it is better to learn earlier than later. It is hard to change your view of other people if you have had that view for a long time. I think that this would help the world community because it is easy to hate someone that you don’t know. If we built and promoted a program like the one I described, children would find many experiences and feelings that they have in common. This would reduce fear and hatred between the U.S. and the Middle East. I recognize that there are challenges involved with completing this program. One is that I do not know that there is any current technology that could do what I have in mind, and if there is, I imagine it would be very expensive. However, the program would be worth the money. As Secretary of State, an education program that brings children from the U.S. and the Middle East together through technology is what I would create to help the world community. “One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.” --Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bibliography cultureconnect.state.gov/?p=CulturalAmbassadors
Global
Warming: A Real Life Problem If I had just been appointed Secretary of State, I would be thinking two things: one, “I’m really excited!”; two, “Now I can finally speak up about something, like global warming.” What is global warming? According to Dictionary.com, it is: “an increase in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere.” According to David King, UK government chief scientific adviser, “Climate change is the most severe problem that we are facing today, more serious even than the threat of terrorism.” Something definitely should be done about global warming. We’re talking about the earth we were living in, are living in, and very importantly, will live in. Global warming is happening to planet Earth, which every single human being lives on. That means that if climate change gets bad, it will happen to everyone. So this is one of the issues that is important to all of us. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), “There are a growing number of studies that show plants and animals changing their range and behavior in response to shifts in climate…the Artic ice pack has lost about 40% of it’s thickness over the past few decades, and the global sea level is rising about 3 times faster over the past 100 years compared to the previous 3,000 years.” The changes are very apparent in this world; they are making themselves present in almost every way. Climate change is happening all over the
world, but mostly places that use a lot of fossil fuel. When we
use cars and other energy using machines, fossil fuel is being
spewed in to the atmosphere. And when fossil fuel is burned, carbon
dioxide is released. Carbon dioxide is one of the most important
greenhouse gases. Some others are: water vapor, methane, nitrous
oxide, halogenated fluorocarbons, and hydrofluorocarbons. If too
much greenhouse gets in the atmosphere, the extra gases are likely
to produce global warming. So the more gases used up, the more
the earth heats up. To some people, this may seem great. I mean,
I like warm weather just as much as the next person, although
too much heat can cause health and environmental problems. If climate change rises rapidly in the next few years, some bad things could happen in both the U.S and everywhere else. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the glaciers up north could melt, which might cause sea levels to rise, and flooding. Coastal flooding would kill many plant and animal species. Major floods could harm us. That means everybody. Furthermore, if the climate heats up too fast, very young children and elderly people could be seriously affected by heat stress, heat stroke, heat exhaustion and other health problems. Crops can die from drought, and our water supply could drop. Nature cannot adjust to such a quick climate change. I do not want all this to happen. But it’s happening slowly right before our eyes. As Secretary of State, I have to do something. Seeing that the temperature of the earth has raised 1 degree Fahrenheit in the last century, I must do something. People have talked and lectured about taking the bus and carpooling and all those crucial things, but nobody listens. They’re just so used to driving big, fancy, “cool” cars. It’s easier to just get into your car than wait fifteen minutes to ride a slow-moving vehicle with a group of strangers. Getting in your car is easier than picking up a horde of people and cramming in. And these days, there’s not a ton of places that you can just walk to. But there’s one thing people do listen to, and that’s money. The new Hybrid Prius uses a combination of gasoline and electricity. More people would buy it if it cost less than its price of as low as $20,000. So, being the Secretary of State, I would work to give Hybrid owners a tax advantage, and more people would buy them. I know my mom would. If every single person who needs a car drove a Hybrid, the atmosphere would be only half as filled with car pollution. Even though I consider myself a “junior environmentalist”, I have learned a great deal about what global warming really is. I have also came to an important conclusion. Global warming is unfair. According to Beatrice Schell, European Federation for Transport and Environment, “One person flying in an airplane for one hour is responsible for the same greenhouse gas emissions as a typical Bangladeshi in a whole year.” That’s a lot of gases going into the air because of us. While we Americans (who are the top producers of greenhouse gasses, according to James Baker, former U.S. Secretary of State), Chinese, and Russians-the 2nd and 3rd top contributors- overuse cars, trucks, and even electrical devices (which slowly send small greenhouse gases into the air), some other countries aren’t contributing as much. In fact, many of those countries, which are too small to have been heard of, are facing poverty, war, serious segregation issues, and hunger. When climate change happens, it happens to everyone and everything, even the ones who didn’t do anything. It’s like in a classroom, where a few kids misbehave, everyone gets punished, and the rest of the children have to suffer for something they did not do. It is completely unjust. When global warming hits big time, it hits everyone. That’s why it’s important to everybody: the U.S. and the rest of the world. Bibliography www.npr.org
My duty, as the new U.S Secretary of State, is to create a more secure, democratic and prosperous world for the benefit of the international community and the American people. I will try to reduce world hunger. World hunger is a very devastating world issue. Eight-hundred, fifty-two million people across the world are hungry. This is ten million more people than last year. Tragically, almost 24,000 people die from hunger every day. Three out of four of these deaths are children under 5 years old. All of the deaths add up to 8 million each year. This is three times the population of the United States. Ten percent of their deaths are from famine, the other ninety percent are from situations where people live their entire life without enough food- malnutrition. This means that people don’t get the average amount of food each day to live. There is enough food produced globally to feed everyone on the planet so everybody suffering from world hunger should have food. Why not just send some food? Wealthy governments
can reduce Why is this important to the world? This issue is important to the world in several ways. One reason is that all people deserve the right to basic needs such as food. A second reason is that more people deserve the right to own land which they can farm. A third reason is that more people deserve the right to education, training, loans and credit to make their farms successful. Why is this important to the U.S.? This is important to the U.S. because developing nations will be less dependent on the U.S. for food aid and food surpluses. My solution to reduce world hunger is to send experts to developing countries to find ways to grow more food on their land. I will also encourage developing nations to try organic farming methods using organic fertilizers versus chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Crop rotation is important for soil ecology. The soil becomes worn out when the same crops are grown over and over again. Sometimes the soil needs a season to rest without any crops planted. As Secretary of State I would encourage leaders of developing nations to begin the process of land reform. Most of the land is in the hands of the wealthy, and more of the land should belong to the poor. Also, more educational opportunities should be available for the poor so they can learn how to use new farming methods. Governments could also offer low cost loans to farmers to help them get started in the farming business. In conclusion, by making more opportunities for the poor to own land and training to grow crops more effectively, we may reduce world hunger. When poor people can begin to provide food for themselves, this will benefit the American people and the international community. Bibliography Lappe, Frances Moore, and Collins, Joseph. "World Hunger:
Twelve
International
Forum for Educational Change Today, one-fourth of the world's adult population is illiterate. As Secretary of State, I would establish an international initiative on education. I elaborate on my reason and then my plan, which leads to a Declaration on Education. Education is the base for better communities. Education can improve poverty, health, politics, the economy, and human rights. If the large majority of a population receives a good education it allows them to have the knowledge to get jobs, which pay a reasonable amount of money. When people have more money malnutrition diminishes and health increases. When women are educated they begin to have less children and the amount of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases spreading through communities lowers. When a population of people does better, taxes can be raised, giving the country more money to build the country. When the economy does better, political aspects improve and there is more democracy and consideration for human rights. As Secretary of State, I would also emphasize educational equality for boys and girls. In many countries the number of boys enrolled in school is much greater than girls enrolled in school, though granted it is often bad for both. For example, in Benin 7% school-age girls are going to secondary school compared to 13% of the boys. By focusing on educational equity, more women will be involved in decision making, and perhaps lean more towards making peaceful decisions. Women might also tend to make decisions for more rights. When there are more rights, voting becomes encouraged. When more countries start to have voting for both men and women, many laws will change to reflect the views of everyone. It’s a start to recognize that education is important and that in many countries--even in our own country--education is lacking. But such recognition by itself doesn’t make change. When people of the same interest or goal come together, the potential for real change is the strongest. For example, in 1995 in Beijing there was an international conference on woman’s rights. Over 180 countries had representatives. Since then there have been improvements concerning women all over the world. As Secretary of State, and as part of my initiative on education, I would host an international forum on education. Through this forum hopefully people would begin to realize the importance of education and as a group create mechanisms for change. During this 7 day forum, there would be many discussions with people similar and different from one another. It is important for people to be with different types of people because this is not a national issue but rather an international issue. The discussion topics would be the same but depending on the people you are talking with, each conversation could lead participants to a different place. Some of the ideas that would be discussed in this forum are:
Not only would people be discussing the issues going on, but they would also draft a Declaration of Education, modified from our own Declaration of Independence. The same process will be made as by our Founding Fathers, where many people with different views came together and decided change was needed. They then made a list of grievances and wrote an end paragraph stating what needs to happen. In the Declaration of Education, I would suggest keeping the grievances relatively short, and elaborating on the solutions for change. Below is an outline of what the forum might look like. Day 1: The Dali Lama speaks and discusses his ideas with different groups of people. He could talk about how peace and education go hand-in-hand, and his views on education and what it is like around the world. Day 2: Princess Kasune Zulu (from Zimbabwe, age 29) speaks about being HIV positive and having children. She will also speak from an educator’s point of view on educating organizations on HIV/AIDS and ways to prevent it. Day 3: Nelson Mandela speaks about how he changed the political system, and how to fight for social justice concerning education. He will also share his personal experiences of fighting for what was right, being jailed, being discouraged, and how everyone has to fight for what is right. Day 4-6: Draft the Declaration of Education. Find solutions so each individual can go back to their country and make a difference. Day 7: Medea Benjamin (a prominent social activist) speaks about her many trips to different countries, protesting, getting caught by police, and many other vivid experiences of her activism and how she has saved children’s lives. On a personal note, I recently heard Medea Benjamin speak in a workshop she helped lead. I believe she can end our forum with a note of inspiration and encouragement for what each individual can do. This forum is good for the United States of America because it gives us credit for hosting such a large event. Many countries could be shown we care about the world, which may repair negative impressions caused by the Iraq War. They will appreciate our vision and our actions. Bibliography "Assessing Progress in Achieving Gender Equality."
United Nations Development for Women, April 3, 2005: www.unifem.org/ Draut, Tamara. "The Best Education Your House Can Buy." January 10, 2005: www.demos-usa.org/ "Literacy: Some Basic Facts." December 11, 2001: www.wycliffe.org/ W. Ewbank. (Personal communications, February - March 2005)
If I
Were Secretary of State There are many jobs being the Secretary of State; one of the most important ones is to represent the U.S. in the world community. The Secretary of State needs to be able to organize and direct discussions which lead to peaceful settlement of disagreements and problems that affect all human beings. One of these big problems is HIV/AIDS. Right now there are almost 38 million people in the world who have been infected with the AIDS virus. Africa is the country with the highest ratio of people with the virus. In Africa there are very few resources for education and treatment. The United States and countries in Europe which have better health care systems, education programs, research, and drug production have had the most success in reducing death from AIDS. Many developing countries in Africa are most hard hit because they lack health infrastructures. They are also very limited in needed technology for research and drug production. If I were Secretary of State, I would use what the United States has learned in the last 24 years about AIDS to help other countries throughout the world. The goal would be to give infected people hope of longer lives, prevention of the spread of the disease and an opportunity to build goodwill and cooperation among less developed countries and more scientifically advanced countries. I would work with the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop:
As Secretary of State I would set up a volunteer program for young people, not unlike the Peace Corps. It would be called the World Mentoring Corps. It would train and pay volunteers to go to developing countries to train educators, medical personnel and drug manufacturers. Part of their job would be to train locals from the rural areas to continue the educating. The “health care teachers” would teach about transmission of AIDS, how to prevent HIV/AIDS, and to distribute antiviral medications. The reason I would send these young people to rural areas is because information and medication is more available in the larger cities. In rural areas, the information is more likely to be incorrect or unknown. I would begin by sending the Corps members to the Sub-Saharan areas in Africa. Some of these places are: South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Mozambique. I would go to these places because these are the countries that have the highest death rate because of AIDS. The Corps would also have an exchange program and would pay scholarships to delegates from developing countries to come to the United States and be trained in scientific research so they could return to their countries better prepared to continue medical research. If I were Secretary of State, I would explore relationships with other countries where antiviral medications might be manufactured less expensively than it is in the U.S. HIV medication is very expensive and in a recent survey only 7% of those infected received treatment in the Sub-Saharan Africa. Part of the goal would also be to find sources of cheaper ingredients. I would insure that drugs were less expensive but, most importantly, did the job. The young volunteers from the World Mentoring Corps would help train local people about how to take these medications and distribute them. In the long run, I believe that science needs to discover a vaccine that would stop the spread of HIV forever. I know that this is being worked on and I would encourage international cooperation among scientists to find this solution soon. I would award large grants to countries who would dedicate time and work to this part of the goal. This is a very expensive dream. I realize that these actions would take hefty funding. I would hope that other countries and people would visualize my dream of saving lives and lowering the AIDS death rate. I would ask that other countries, developing and technological countries, would donate a fairly large amount so that I could get the World Mentoring Corps started. There are many famous figures that have donated large sums of money to help find cures for HIV/AIDS. I would get them involved in my program hoping that they would help me get my fight for AIDS started. I would ask well known bands and singers to go on a world benefit tour to raise money for materials for building research hospitals and studying new medications. As Secretary of State, I would feel truly passionate about bringing people from many countries together to work on this problem. Too many people have died from this horrible virus; it needs to be stopped and it is something that affects all races, genders, cultures and socio-economic groups. I think education will help drop the numbers of people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS considerably. I would like to know that AIDS would be something of the past in my lifetime. Bibliography Drotman, D. Peter. "AIDS." World Book Online Reference Center, 2005. World Book Inc., April 5, 2005: www.worldbookonline.com Magee, Mike. "AIDS: Still Growing 24 Years Later." March 18, 2005: www.healthpolitics.com
War in itself is already a trouble in society. However, the problem only gets worse when children as young as 10 are recruited into the military. In many third world countries, children are being recruited into the military. Small arms are easily available so the use of weapons is easier for children. Easily intimidated and very obedient, children are viewed as good soldier material. Often, children are forced to join the military because it is the only way to survive. For example, parents in Myanmar volunteer their children for the rebel Karen army because the guerillas offer young recruits food and clothing. There are around 300,000 child soldiers in the world. About 120,000 of those soldiers are in Africa. According to UNICEF, more than one million child soldiers have lost their parents. Twelve million have been left homeless. Many children grow up knowing only a life of violence and pain. Two million kids have been killed and about four to five million kids have been disabled. Girl soldiers in places such as Angola, on top of their combat duties, are used as wives by rebel leaders. It seems that children are those who need the most protection, but as soldiers, they are viewed as the most dispensable. Another problem is reintroducing the child soldiers into society. Emotionally traumatized or physically disabled, many child soldiers may find it difficult to begin a new, peaceful life. The 10 million traumatized children, knowing only what they have learned from war, turn to crime or partake in more violence. I think this issue is important both to the U.S. and to the world because children don't deserve this kind of agony. Being one of the most powerful countries in the world, the United States should do whatever it can to help others. The world needs to be informed of the suffering child soldiers are going though and needs to put a stop to it immediately. As the U.S. Secretary of State, I will use all of my power to make sure that every country, including the United States, signs and ratifies the Convention on the Right of a Child. Also, I am going to inform every country of the atrocities child soldiers face and let them know that they can make the lives of child soldiers better. All they need to do is sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. Next, I will raise funds to build sanctuaries for child soldiers. These places will be open to former child soldiers left homeless, disabled, orphaned, and traumatized by war. There will also be centers for child soldiers seeking refuge. I will support campaigns and organizations that want to do away with the use of child soldiers. I, as the Secretary of State for the United States of America, will do everything humanly possible to save child soldiers everywhere because no child should ever suffer through such brutality. Bibliography "Children as Soldiers: Children in War." Unicef, February 28, 2005: www.unicef.org "Children's Rights: Stop the Use of Child Soldiers." Human Rights Watch, February 28, 2005. "Children, Conflict and the Military." Global Issues, February 28, 2005: www.globalissues.org "Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child." Office of the High Commisioner for Human Rights, February 28, 2005: www.unhschr.ch
Containing the Monster in the Closet: Biological Weapons By Nancy Kathleen Martin Ballard High School, Seattle Ninth Grade Biological warfare has been present during times of crisis for centuries, from plague-infected corpses being thrown over walls of besieged medieval cities, to giving Native Americans smallpox-infected blankets in the 1700s, to its use in the 20th century. Biological weapons are currently one of the most dangerous and uncontrollable groups of weapons in the world. Though they have not been used in any large-scale attacks, as of now, they still remain an ongoing threat, as access to these weapons has been made easier in light of international travel and Internet trade. Biological agents are naturally occurring microorganisms, such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi, or poisons that are present in nature that can cause disease and death in humans when used as a weapon of warfare (Biological Weapons Treaties). International opinion recognizes biological warfare as being an unethical and inhumane method of warfare. As Secretary of State for the United States of America, I would enforce the Biological Weapons Convention treaty and try to improve this treaty by adopting the Draft Protocol of the Fifth Review Conference in 2001, while restricting and closing down public access to biological agents through the regular and black markets internationally. In the present state of global terrorism, availability of biological weapons has increased, especially when compared to the availability of nuclear weapons. “Dropping an atomic bomb could cause casualties in a specific area, but dropping smallpox could engulf the world,” [as said by D.A. Henderson in 1999, former head of WHO’s Smallpox Eradication Campaign of the 1970s] (Preston). In 1925 the Geneva Protocol was born as a result of poisonous gas killing over 100,000 people during World War I; the Geneva Protocol prohibited the use of poison gas and bacteriological (microbiological) as methods of warfare (Convention on the Prohibition…). The Geneva Protocol was soon abandoned by many nations, and biological weapon development was reinstated during World War II, with the notable use of biological experiments on humans by the Japanese in China. In 1969 the United States unilaterally renounced all methods of biological warfare, diverting all of its biological programs to strictly defensive and prophylactic purposes, such as immunization. By 1972 the U.S.’s example was accepted internationally, leading to a Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) (Convention on Prohibition…). The BWC called for nations to sign a treaty that promised to ban the development, production, stockpiling, and retention of biological agents/toxins and to destroy any existing agents. Individual governments would later ratify the BWC. One hundred sixty-two states signed the treaty, while 144 states ratified the treaty individually. As of 1976, the U.S. announced its full compliance with the BWC treaty, which allowed biological weapons for defensive or peaceful purposes. The BWC treaty “has unlimited duration, and originally called for only one Review Conference, held in 1982” (Biological Weapons Treaties). The United Nations wanted to work on compliance issues and called for a Review Conferences to be held every five years. Currently the BWC is not adequately enforced
internationally. The U.S. especially believes North Korea, Iran,
Syria, and Libya to be out of compliance with the BWC (although
Syria’s government never ratified the treaty). To address
this issue, the U.N. needs to take a more aggressive stance on
enforcing compliance. As Secretary of State, I would speak directly
to the U.N. on this specific issue and ask for more teams to be
inspecting nations for compliance. I would also try to meet with
the leaders of countries suspected of incompliance one on one,
while calling for cooperation with the BWC. Group diplomacy may
be an effective means of getting nations together to address certain
issues, including the BWC compliance. Incentives or rewards, like
increased trade, lower prices, or financial aid, would be a good
way of getting nations to comply; while sanctions or deterrents,
like decreased trade, raised prices, or denying financial aid,
may also force unwilling countries to comply. By enforcing the Draft Protocol, proliferation of biological agents would be uncovered and possibly eliminated. I would work with other countries to regulate trade and sales on the regular market, while closing down access to the sales of biological agents or toxins and the tools required to genetically engineer an agent or toxin. By doing so it would be more difficult for biological weapons to end up in the hands of terrorists, and would ultimately make the world a safer place (“The Chemical and Biological…”). “The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing,” (Burke). In order to make the world safer from a biological attack, as Secretary of State for the United States of America I would work on better enforcing the Biological Weapons Convention treaty of 1972 through the United Nations and international diplomacy, and by using incentives and deterrents. By adhering to the Draft Protocol of the Fifth Review Conference of 2001, the U.S. would be once again leading other nations. The benefits of the Protocol, such as sharing of biological research, reporting suspicious disease breakouts, and establishing highly secure containment facilities, outweigh the consequences of doing nothing. By restricting and regulating public access to biological agents and toxins in the regular and black markets, the threat of a biological catastrophe could be averted. Bibliography “Biological Weapons and International Regulations.”
Transcript: IAP “Biological Weapons and Threat Detection.” Transcript:
Osborn “Biological Weapons Treaties.” Department of Navy,
August 2001. Bulton, John R. “Biological Weapons Convention.”
U.S. Department Burke, Edmond. “The Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation and “Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production
and Preston, Richard. The Demon in the Freezer. (page 127) Random
United States Department of State INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
The nuclear program in Iran should be our top priority. The possibility of nuclear weapons in Iran is important to the United States and the rest of the world because nuclear weapons kill and destroy on an unimaginable scale. Therefore, the United States must do all it can to prevent nuclear weapons production in Iran. Specifically, the United States should work together with our European allies (France, Great Britain, and Germany) to negotiate an agreement with Iran that guarantees that it will never develop the Bomb. In return for this commitment from Iran, the United States should stand ready to offer economic benefits. In devising a policy toward Iran, we must consider the background, international complexities, and options. The present status is as follows. In 2002 the international community discovered that Iran had been pursuing a nuclear technology program for many years. While Iran claims that the nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes, some of its activities, including enriching uranium and building centrifuges, are also necessary for the production of nuclear weapons. Representatives from Germany, France, and Great Britain have had long negotiations with Iran to convince them to terminate their nuclear program. As an emblem of good faith, Iran has suspended uranium enrichment until negotiations conclude. The United States refuses to meet directly with Iran, until it completely terminates their nuclear program. The U.S., along with Germany, France, and Great Britain, have already offered economic benefits in exchange for complete termination. There are multiple considerations that may our affect our policy formulation. First and most important, we must prevent the spread of nuclear weapons technology to more nations than already possess it. Nuclear weapons in Iran would not only threaten its neighbors, but would increase the terrifying possibility that radical splinter groups, such as Al Qaeda, could obtain these weapons and detonate them in U.S. cities. Second, we must be mindful of the perception of U.S. actions towards Iran in the remainder of the Islamic world. We have already invaded and are occupying an Islamic nation. If we were to invade and occupy yet another Islamic nation we might only feed and spread hatred of the U.S. throughout the Islamic world. Third, we must remember that you have labeled Iran, Iraq, and North Korea as the “axis of evil” and North Korea is also developing a nuclear program. Therefore, the handling of the nuclear issue in Iran may tie our hands in North Korea, or, at least, affect North Korea is expectations and conduct. For example, if we invade Iran it might only encourage North Korea to speed up production of nuclear weapons. Fourth, we must consider our European allies. We invaded Iraq without the consent of the United Nations Security Council and over the strong objection of our European allies, with the exception of Great Britain. If we were to act unilaterally in Iran it might sour relations with our staunchest allies for the foreseeable future. The United States has numerous options. The United States could do nothing about the nuclear program in Iran and leave it up to other countries and organizations to deal with the problem. We could invade and occupy Iran. We could directly negotiate with Iran, even before their nuclear program is terminated. We could offer economic benefits to Iran in exchange for terminating their nuclear program. If the nuclear program develops we could take the issue to the United Nations Security Council. We could visit Tehran. We should take bold steps to break the current impasse. I propose that you and I offer to meet with the European powers and Iran in Tehran. Once there, we should offer economic benefits such as open trade between our countries, acceptance into the world trade organization, and opening of embassies in each country, in exchange for complete termination of Iran’s nuclear program. This proposal respects the Islamic world by meeting them on their home turf, and appeases our European allies by moving bilaterally and peacefully. This is a proposal that we would not offer to North Korea as of now because they are unwilling to negotiate. However, this proposal would neither encourage nor frighten North Korea. But most importantly, this proposal is difficult for Iran to refuse, thereby stopping the Iranian nuclear program. Bibliography Fathi, Nazila. "Iran Rebuffs U.N. Agency on Atom Issue." New York Times On-Line, September 20, 2004. "Iran Says it will not give up Uranium Enrichment Program." New York Times On-Line, August 1, 2004. Sciolino, Elaine; Sanger, David; Broad, William. "Pressed, Iran Admits it Discussed Acquiring Tools for Nuclear Arms." New York Times On-Line, February 28, 2005. Weisman, Steven; Sanger, David. "U.S. and Allies Agree on Steps in Iran Dispute." New York Times On-Line, March 11, 2005. Weisman, Steven; Sciolino, Elaine; Sanger, David. "Rice Says U.S. Won't Aid Europe on Plans for Incentives for Iran." New York Times On-Line, February 4, 2005.
According to U.S. Social Security registration information, the most popular baby names in this country last year were Emily for a girl, Jacob for a boy. Last year in Ethiopia, babies went nameless for a month after their birth, as it was so likely they would die in infancy. The international community’s most troubling issue is the same today as it was 10 years ago, 20 years ago, and 50 years ago: hunger. In a world where technology has reached the point that cell phones can be used as cameras, we as humans are still not able to correct the problem of people going to bed hungry. To make an impact in the world’s battle against hunger, the U.S. must start in Ethiopia, a country where the problem is at its’ most threatening. Ethiopia is located in eastern Africa, to the west of Somalia and neighboring Eritrea. Two severe droughts have been the main cause of Ethiopia’s current condition, one in 1999 and another in 2002. These droughts left Ethiopian lands dry and cracked, and cultivation was almost impossible in many areas. This was devastating to the 80 percent of Ethiopia’s population that relies directly and indirectly on agricultural development as a source of income (Ethioblogger). With less money and less food, the numbers experiencing famine in Ethiopia have begun to increase from an already soaring rate. Ethiopia’s healthcare system, which only provides for around 64 percent of the entire population, is unable to support this type of overwhelming malnourishment. Currently, about 42 million people in Ethiopia are going hungry (Integrated Regional Information Networks). It could be argued that the United States has already done enough concerning this issue. After the 2002 drought, the U.S. government spent $550 million on relief assistance. However, as signs of recovery and stability in Ethiopia remain unapparent, it is clear that there is so much more needed to be done. So why should the U. S. care? Evidence can be found to support the idea that the United States government only offers aid where there is something to be gained for this country. Whether or not that is true, becoming more deeply committed to the emergency in Ethiopia would be beneficial to the U.S. Sooner or later, the U.S. Department of State must begin the process of reversing the damaged reputation it has acquired. When the United States looked to other nations for support in their campaign in the Middle East, many countries quietly turned away or simply refused. Unless more is done to promote good intentions of the U.S. government, this country will find itself without allies in its’ own times of need. Taking serious action in Ethiopia would achieve these goals. The international community as a whole should also be troubled by the situation in Ethiopia. As Ethiopian parents are continually forced to bury their children, and Ethiopian leaders are continually embarrassed by their own nation’s state of poverty, desperation occurs. It is in circumstances like this that dangerous dictators are allowed to arise. For example, in the 1930’s, Adolph Hitler rose to power in Germany. People clung to his promises of strength and glory, anxious to forget their humiliation and battered prides during the aftermath of World War I. Desperate people are more likely to make desperate choices. As the Secretary of State, I propose a plan be established that links an attack against hunger and malnourishment in the United States with an attack against hunger and malnourishment in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government has admitted to being uncomfortable and discontented simply accepting charity from other, more prosperous nations. Because of this, the U.S. Department of State must aid Ethiopia in a way that is not condescending. This can be accomplished by showing that the United States is struggling with some of the same problems. Although hunger and malnourishment levels in the U.S. are not as high as in Ethiopia, the issues do clearly exist in this country. Unless malnourishment is tackled at a very
young age, children are likely to suffer from brain damage, which
enables them from advancing in school and receiving the educations
they deserve. As a part of my plan, medical students desiring
financial aid would have the opportunity to educate parents on
recognizing signs of malnourishment in exchange for partial scholarships.
This year, the UN has joined with Ethiopia to reach the global Millennium Development Goals. Under these goals, Ethiopia will aim to cut poverty and hunger in half by 2015, ten years from now. If Ethiopia continues down the path it is currently heading down, the country will reach these goals by 2156, over 150 years late (Viewpoint). Right now, over ten percent of Ethiopians die before they reach the age of five, almost all due to hunger-related problems. If hunger is allowed to remain in Ethiopia with such severity until 2156, the death toll would be staggering. Among the dead children there could be the greatest soccer player this world has ever seen, a leader who would change the way people look at life, or simply a truly amazing mother. But no one would ever know. Can we, as humans, let that happen? Bibliography "Constant Threat of Hunger and Disease in Ethiopia." March 20, 2005: www.doctorswithoutborders.org/ "Ethiopia: Over 50 Percent of Children Stunted: Government Report." Irin News, March 18, 2005: www.irinnews.org/ "Ethiopia: Poverty Outlook Reveals yet many Challenges." Integrated Regional Information Networks, March 20, 2005: www.reliefweb.int/ The World Fact Book: Ethiopia. February 10, 2005: www.cia.gov/ "Top Names 2004." Moss Gathering, March 20, 2005: www.babynames.com/ USAID: Strategy in Ethiopia. March 1, 2005: www.usaid.gov/
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