Former Senator George Allen Critcises Law of the Sea Treaty in the Washington Times

(12/21/07) George Allen, "Throw out LOST," Washington Times

Ambassador John Bolton Speaks on Law of the Sea Treaty at the Heritage Foundation

The Heritage Video:

Sailor Criticizes Law of the Sea Treaty in WorldNetDaily piece, Worries about UN Power Grab

"An encrusted artifact on the ocean floor just waiting to be excavated" - that's how Michael Rawlin's describes the Law of the Sea Treaty in his piece on today's WorldNetDaily.com.

In the article, Rawlins, a lifelong merchant marine officer, offers up a poignant sailor's critique of this rusted, dangerous, and generally unseaworthy treaty.

For example, he notes with trepidation the omnipresence in LOST of redistributionist slang like "just and equitable economic order," "for the benefit of mankind as a whole," and "the common heritage of mankind." All of these phrases mean only one thing - competition and entreprenuership under the Treaty are looked at as anachronistic and downright exploitative.

Rawlins goes on to detail some of the more worrisome security provisions in LOST, and to critique the U.S. military's "tunnel-vision support" for it, especially given the the numerous restrictions on American sovereignty and freedom of action that pepper the treaty.

He concludes by noting noting that any treaty which diminishes U.S. rights in the oceans to the level of those wielded by the likes of Cuba and Luxembourg can't be a good thing. We at the Coalition to preserve American Sovereignty feel that he is right.

Latest LOST Update

(11/26/07) Senator John Kyl, "Law of the Sea Treaty: LOST all Sense," National Ledger

Problems with Law of the Sea Treaty Reaffirmed in WorldNetDaily Piece; Bush Administration Can't Answer Critics

Advocates for the Law of the Sea Treaty find themselves in an unenviable position - they're unable to answer the questions and concerns of treaty critics. This point was underscored yet again in a piece in today's World Net Daily.

When confronted by a WND reporter about LOST's numerous persisting problems, the best that White House spokesman Dana Perino could muster was a "I understand that there are concerns, but we believe that those have been addressed."

Really? It is curious that if - as the White House claims - all concerns with the Law of the Sea Treaty have been addressed, the entirety of the Senate Republican leadership and every Republican presidential candidate have come out agaisnt it.

Just as worrisome, when asked about whether LOST would hamstring U.S. military operations similar to President Kennedy's blockade of Cuba or President Reagan's invasion of Grenada, Perino could only state that she doesn't comment on hypotheticals. That's a safe move for any administration, but in this case her answer squares perfectly with the actions of other Law of the Sea advocates - avoiding public debate if at all possible and ramming the treaty through the Senate before the country is any the wiser.

The Coalition to Preserve American sovereignty feels that that it is incumbent upon the Adminstration to openly present its case to the country so that the American people can be given a front-row seat to the tragedy that is the Law of the Sea Treaty.

Doug Bandow in Law of the Sea Treaty Interview with Texas Newpaper: "Bad Treaties Never Die"

On Thursday, Doug Bandow of the Competitive Enterprise Institute weighed in heavily against the Law of the Sea Treaty in a published interview with the Tyler Morning Herald of Tyler, Texas.

Bandow, one of America's foremost experts on LOST and member of the Coalition to Preserve American Sovereignty, runs down the littany of reasons why the treaty ought to resoundingly rejected by the Bush Administration and Congress.

For starters, he notes that LOST will circumvent the tax powers of Congress by allowing the treaty-created International Seabed Authority to levy taxes on U.S. business that work on the Outer Continental Shelf. For those who believe in "No Taxation Without Representation," the is problematic, to say the least.

Bandow goes on to note that our accession to the Law of the Sea Treaty would subject us to a bevy of potentially crippling lawsuits brought by overzealous international lawyers. We could expect a spate of new regulations and restriction that would harm U.S. interests, and could even hamstring our military.

All in all, Bandow argues, the dangers of the LOST far outweigh its benefits: "Enshrining collectivism as international law through creation of a mini-me United Nations would be as foolish as it would be costly."

LOST a Dangerous "Booby Trap," Says NY Sun; Reagan Rejected it on Principle

Need a clear reminder about what President Ronald Reagan thought of the Law of the Sea Treaty? None clearer than that in today's New York Sun will be found.

In an editorial entitled "George W. Haig," Sun readers are treated to an anecdote from former Reagan official Ken Adelman, who relates that the president's objections to LOST were not based on arcane specifics, but on common sense.

According to Adelman, Reagan refused Secretary of State Alexander Haig's push for the ratification of LOST, calling it "really stupid," and rejected the idea that just because most other nations of the world had signed on, we should ratify it too. His forthright assertions of U.S. sovereignty were, and remain, an indication of what principled governance is all about.

The Sun goes on to chide the Bush Adminstration for walking the path of Secretary Haig and forfeiting U.S. interests to a supranational bureaucracy by pushing for American accession to the Law of the Sea Treaty. It calls the treaty "an ivitation to war" against American interests, and warns that our joining would subject us to "a collection of security, financial, and administrative booby traps."

The Coalition to Preserve American Sovereignty commends the Sun for joining the rising groundswell against U.S. ratification of the LOST, a disastrous document that President Reagan wisely spurned twenty-five years ago.