LOST Defeated Again!

Back in January, 2005 I wrote about how George Bush supported the Law Of The Sea Treaty (LOST).
LOST is “a treaty that gives power to the UN over the seafloor to the detriment of our interests. Back then Sen. Lugar questioned Condoleeza Rice about LOST. Rice responded that the president “certainly would like to see it pass as soon as possible,” saying LOST “serves our national security interests, serves our economic interests. We very much want to see it go into force.”

I quoted “Insight On The News”back then:

As worded, LOST would deny the United States the right to intercept terrorist vessels or proliferators, according to Dr. Peter Leitner. The President’s Proliferation Security Initiative, designed to battle proliferation of weapons of mass destruction with as little effect on commerce as possible, would be illegal under the treaty. “This U.S.-led, multinational program of high-seas interdiction and vessel boarding is barred by the Law of the Sea Treaty yet it is our overriding national-security interest to execute,” Leitner said. “Ratification of the treaty would effectively gut our ability to intercept the vessels of terrorists or hostile foreign governments even if they were transporting nuclear weapons. We must ensure that we are not binding the government of the United States to a legal regime that makes us more vulnerable and trades the lives of our innocent civilians for the sake of participating in yet another unnecessary treaty.”

Even worse, according to Leitner, is what he calls “the creation of yet another international court where the United States or our citizens can be dragged before politically motivated jurists to adjudicate and set penalties.”

The treaty imposes limitations “on measures we might take to ensure our national security and homeland defense. If, for instance, foreign vessels operating on the high seas do not fit into one of three categories (i.e., they are engaged in piracy, flying no flag or transmitting radio broadcasts), LOST would prohibit U.S. Navy or Coast Guard vessels from intercepting, searching or seizing them,” Gaffney testified.

In February, 2005 I quoted Phyllis Schlafly about the dangers LOST poses.

In September, 2008, I wondered how Sarah Palin would react when John McCain announces his support of LOST.

The treaty keeps being brought up and today we learned that once again it’s passage was defeated. “A treaty governing the high seas is all but dead in the Senate as Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) announced their opposition giving conservative foes the necessary votes to scuttle the pact.” The treaty needs a two-thirds approval to pass.

The best chance for passage is gone with the House and Senate expected to be in Republican hands come November, but looking back, even Republicans in charge have wanted to restrict our freedom. Keep fighting to prevent passage of LOST.

The post LOST Defeated Again! appeared first on Mover Mike.