A member of President Obama’s Cabinet warned the incoming administration on Thursday not to allow the U.S. to retreat from its leadership role at the United Nations, claiming that doing so could reduce national security and jeopardize American interests.
“Other nations will follow us if we continue to lead; without our leadership, the vacuum on the global stage will prove very harmful to U.S. interests,” Samantha Power, the United States’ current ambassador to the UN, wrote in an exit memo requested by Obama.
She continued, “When the United States leads at the United Nations, we shape the rules and norms – and we can leverage UN capabilities in service of international security, making the United States safer and stronger, while sparing us financial and operational burdens that are unsustainable.”
Power’s warning comes as President-elect Trump continues to disparage the U.N., as he did during much of his campaign.
Speaking at the American Israel Political Affairs Committee conference last spring, the incoming commander in chief said the UN “is not a friend of democracy [or] freedom.”
“It’s not a friend even to the United State of America,” he had said.
The recent U.N. Security Council vote on Israeli settlements has only increased Trump’s suspicions about the international organization. “Things will be different after Jan. 20,” he tweeted after the vote last month.
Despite Trump’s concerns, Power urged the next administration to stay engaged at the U.N., especially as Libya and Syria remain wracked by conflict, North Korea continues to pursue nuclear and ballistic missile technologies and NATO-Russia relations escalate.
“As Russia continues to menace our allies and attempt to interfere in political systems in Europe and beyond, we will need to show broad condemnation of these actions in UN fora,” Power wrote.
Trump has nominated South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a strong supporter of Israel, to succeed Power in her Cabinet-level post.
