By Christina Miller, office assistant

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — “The United Nations was created in 1945 by 50 nations to keep the peace. The hope that it would guarantee peace for all time fluttered away as the Cold War got going in 1947-1948,” Dr. John D. Stempel, senior professor of international relations at the University of Kentucky's Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce, said at the latest KHIPP (Kentucky Heartland Institute on Public Policy) event.

“The U.N. is a major player in mid-wiving 35-40 countries to independence,” Stempel said.

“Though America was the driving force behind the U.N., it also became frustrated when it could not have its way completely… The Bush administration largely ignored the U.N. as it tried to deal unilaterally with a host of problems from Iran and Iraq to North Korea, Darfur, Southern Lebanon and Israeli-Palestine tension.

“It has gradually been dawning even on conservatives, that the U.N. can do a whole range of activities cheaper and better than individual nations can do.”

According to Stempel, the United Nations can undertake a peacekeeping mission for one-eighth of the cost than that of the United States.

“The U.S. is now using the U.N. as its prime mechanism for pressuring Iran as well as dealing with the Darfur economic and human rights issues.”

Stempel said 75 percent of the public in the United States prefers the American government to work though international bodies, primarily the United Nations.

“The point is that it is much cheaper and more effective than trying to do it unilaterally.”

Stempel talked about the rapprochement with India, which began in the 1980s. He said it's been a “very positive overall achievement on many levels for the U.S. But it has put us in a complex place in the current regional situations with Afghanistan. Our diplomats and military folk are going to have to keep bringing their ‘A' game to this contest, and there will undoubtedly be some important roles for the U.N. as it unfolds.”

Stempel also spoke about 9/11 and how it created a problem for Muslims. “Islamic terrorists number no more than two-percent of the Islamic world.”

He also said one country held 14 candlelight vigil services for America in major cities after 9/11: Iran; other countries were “hooping and hollering” in celebration.

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with over 3,000 students offering 45 undergraduate programs, 16 master's degrees and five postgraduate areas. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.