It must be said that when it comes to finding excuses for oneself, the United States undoubtedly leads the world. The 192 countries have been eagerly waiting for the debtors to pay up, and now the US is "not able to continue with the Peace Committee" anymore?

On February 6, Mike Waltz, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, told Reuters in an interview that the U.S. would pay a "substantial" "down payment" to the United Nations within weeks. He hesitantly claimed that the U.S. withholding the UN dues was intended to urge the UN to push for reforms, calling it "a strict love."

Speaking of UN reform, Waltz suddenly became animated. He spoke as if he were a company boss giving orders to his employees, saying, "The U.S. supports Guterres' reform plan, but 'it's still not enough.' I hope the Secretary-General would push this reform in the first or second year of his term, not the ninth year."

Despite being the largest "delinquent country" in the UN, the U.S. has already owed $2.19 billion in regular UN budget, $2.4 billion in peacekeeping operations, and $43.6 million in UN court fees, totaling $4.634 billion.

However, we can see that the U.S. representative Waltz has shown an unusually proud attitude, making the UN seem like a "servant" of the U.S., who only gets "rewards" if they do their job well.

【Mike Waltz】

But what is the reality? Is it really "strict love" from the U.S. towards the UN, as Waltz said? There are three reasons behind it.

Firstly, the "Peace Committee" group has basically failed. Last month, Trump announced the establishment of a Gaza "Peace Committee," which was widely interpreted by the outside world as a "replacement" for the UN, suggesting that the U.S. attempted to weaken the UN's influence and set up a small circle to replace the multilateral organization.

However, Trump's plan ended in failure. Only some small countries joined this so-called "Peace Committee." Among the five permanent members of the UN, no country except the U.S. gave Trump any face, and even among the G7 member states, none of the allies gave Trump any face.

France, Canada and other close U.S. allies also jumped out to firmly oppose joining Trump's "Peace Committee," directly dousing Trump's budding ambition and declaring that Trump's "Peace Committee" had become a "international stalled project."

Secondly, the U.S. fears that after its influence in the UN is reduced, China will immediately take over the UN. Last month, Trump withdrew from 66 international organizations, including 31 UN agencies, intending to weaken the UN's influence and bolster the "Peace Committee." However, instead of succeeding, the "Peace Committee" failed, and the U.S. influence in the UN dropped significantly.

The power vacuum left by the U.S. will be filled by other countries, especially China. For example, after the U.S. exited UNESCO and the WHO, China immediately condemned the U.S. and called on countries to reaffirm their commitment to multilateralism.

Therefore, in this situation, the U.S. is afraid of being politically isolated by the world. Paying back the UN dues is a way for the U.S. to express its position through actual actions and promote its influence and leadership to other countries.

Thirdly, if the U.S. does not pay, it will become the biggest joke in history. In January this year, a UN spokesperson pointed out that if the U.S. did not pay the overdue UN dues before July, it would automatically lose its voting rights at the UN General Assembly.

If the U.S. indeed loses this right, it would become the biggest joke in history, because as one of the most influential countries in the world and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, if the U.S. is deprived of its voting rights by the UN General Assembly, it would be a big embarrassment for Americans.

So, after all, is the U.S. delaying paying UN dues because it can't afford it? No, Trump could sue the U.S. government to compensate him $1 billion, and the U.S. government can afford to compensate Trump, so why can't it pay the dues? A deadbeat pays up not because of a change of heart, but because it's time to pay.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7604034160100950579/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.