For Immediate Release	Contact: Katherine Gockel gockel@psaonline.org
October 4, 2011	w: 202-293-8580 c: 303-888-8077

Ads with a Statement from 30 Foreign Policy Dignitaries including Madeleine Albright, Howard Baker, John Negroponte, William Cohen and Lee Hamilton Appear in Four Newspapers Today

WASHINGTON – At a time when fierce partisanship dominates the headlines, and funding for many projects is in jeopardy, a group of 30 eminent U.S. foreign policy and national security leaders, from both political parties, are joining forces to declare that the work of the United Nations provides real national security benefits to the United States. Today, this bipartisan statement will appear as full-page ads in Politico, Roll Call, CQ Today and The Hill.

The statement was developed and released by Partnership for a Secure America (PSA), a nonprofit organization, founded by former Representative Lee Hamilton and Senator Warren Rudman to advance bipartisanship on critical national security and foreign policy challenges. The ads state, “that support of the UN is one of the most cost-effective ways for the U.S. to successfully address global challenges and leverage our global leadership.” It also declares, “the UN’s work enables the United States to reap real national security benefits that advance American interests and make us safer and stronger here at home.”

The statement’s signatories include former Members of Congress, Secretaries of Defense, Secretaries of State, ambassadors to the UN, retired generals, a former National Security Advisor, and the Chairman of the 9-11 Commission, among others.

A list of signatories and the full text of the statement is found below and online at PSAOnline.org.

Madeleine Albright Secretary of State 1997-2001 Howard Baker US Senator (R-TN) 1967-85 Samuel Berger National Security Advisor 1997-2001 General Charles Boyd USAF (Ret.) William Cohen Secretary of Defense 1997-2001 John Danforth US Senator (R-MO) 1977-95 Chuck Hagel US Senator (R-NE) 1997-2009 Lee Hamilton US Congressman (D-IN) 1965-99; Co-Chair, PSA Advisory Board Gary Hart US Senator (D-CO) 1975-87 Rita Hauser Chair, International Peace Institute Carla Hills US Trade Representative 1989-93 Thomas Kean Governor (R-NJ) 1982-90; 9/11 Commission Chair Zalmay Khalilzad Ambassador to the UN 2007-09 Donald McHenry Ambassador to the UN 1979-81 George Mitchell US Senator (D-ME) 1980-95

John Negroponte Deputy Secretary of State 2007-09 Sam Nunn US Senator (D-GA) 1972-96 William Perry Secretary of Defense 1994-97 Thomas Pickering Under Secretary of State 1997-2000 Bill Richardson Ambassador to the UN 1997-98 Warren Rudman US Senator (R-NH) 1980-92; Co-Chair, PSA Advisory Board George Shultz Secretary of State 1982-89 Alan Simpson US Senator (R-WY) 1979-97 Strobe Talbott Deputy Secretary of State 1994-2001 John W. Warner US Senator (R-VA) 1979-2009 John Whitehead Deputy Secretary of State 1985-88 Timothy Wirth US Senator (D-CO) 1987-93 Frank Wisner Under Secretary of State 1992-93 Andrew Young Ambassador to the UN 1977-79 General Anthony Zinni USMC (Ret.)

TEXT OF STATEMENT

Today's national security challenges are global in nature. Threats like terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and pandemic disease respect no borders. The United Nations can help provide the global reach and influence required to respond to, or ultimately help prevent, these threats from becoming crises. A truly unique body, the UN offers us the ability to communicate and collaborate with nearly 200 countries on a breadth of issues.

Whether providing famine relief, staunching nuclear proliferation, creating arms embargoes, blocking the travel and financial support of rogue actors, establishing global standards to prevent money laundering, or curbing the spread of pandemics like Avian Flu, the UN’s work enables the United States to reap real national security benefits that advance American interests and make us safer and stronger here at home. Our economy also benefits, as the UN procures goods and services from more than 3,000 businesses across the U.S.

No doubt, U.S. contributions to the UN must be judicious and prudent: accountability, transparency, and effectiveness are essential for any organization, including the UN. At the same time, our ability to burden share with other nations helps defray costs, promote stability, and enhance the impact of our resources. Withholding U.S. funding weakens both our influence and support for our national priorities, while strengthening the hands of our adversaries.

By actively using all of the real foreign policy, national security and economic tools at our disposal, we help develop the international knowledge, capability and capacity required to help address challenges that, if left to fester, land on our doorstep. We, the undersigned Republicans and Democrats, believe that support of the UN is one of the most cost-effective ways for the U.S. to successfully address global challenges and leverage our global leadership.

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