LATE TO THE PARTY

More proof that blog posts are here today, gone tomorrow, but the ideas they contain may live on. Or something like that.

Jonah Goldberg writes that we should set up an alterna-UN that includes only democracies. Tyrannies need not apply. In this way we minimize the Chinas but maximize the Indias; we dilute the stagnant backstabbing French by playing up the economically mighty and US-friendly Japanese. And by making democracy the password to get into the club, we promote democratic values and norms worldwide without having to kill anybody. It's so sensible that it can't possibly happen, but as an idea I like it.

In fact, I like it so much I've been saying the same darn thing for months. Look here. And here. And here. That first post is from February. The only obvious difference between Jonah's idea and mine is the name--he calls it the League of Democracies, I call it the Council of Democracies. LoD or CoD. Whatever, it's a good idea. Welcome to the party, Jonah. You're just under 10 months late, but it's good to have you.

The original idea wasn't mine; I stumbled across it on another blog somewhere and filed it away, but when I wanted to retrieve the original thoughts to write about them myself I discovered I'd failed to bookmark the original post. Too bad--that blog was obviously ahead of its time, and is probably a solid read now.

(thanks to Cold Fury)

MORE: On a tangential issue, the embryonic CoD may soon enlist 50 new member states. The Proliferation Security Initiative, which for now includes 11 states, may also start using "robust measures" to interdict WMD traffic on the seas and in the skies. The more I hear about John Bolton (Undersecretary of State, and architect of the PSI), the more I like him:

Bolton's remarks Tuesday also contained a message for nations who have criticized the United States for not relying more on the United Nations to resolve disputes, including the four other permanent members of the Security Council -- Russia, China, Britain and France.

He noted that neither the dispute over Iran's nuclear program nor the standoff over North Korea's efforts have been referred to the Security Council -- the former, because Britain and France objected, and the latter, because Russia and China did. In both cases, the United States went along, despite concerns that not referring such major issues to the council risk weakening it or rendering it irrelevant.

"We hope that the other four permanent members of the Security Council are aware of the long-term implications of these decisions, as we are," Bolton said. "Policies intended to bring about the termination of the Iranian and [North Korean] nuclear weapons programs, which result in reducing the council's role under the [U.N.] Charter, would truly be unfortunate and ironic."

Unfortunate and ironic, perhaps, but not surprising.