ABSTRACT
From the 1960s until the mid-1980s, Moscow viewed the world body as little more than a convenient platform from which to take rhetorical shots at American and Western policy, thereby forging a convenient solidarity with the Third World. In terms of personnel policy, Moscow has taken significant steps to increase the independence of Soviets employed by the UN While recognizing the opportunity for Soviet collaboration on mutually shared problems, the George Bush administration at the same time should base its response on a critical evaluation of the Soviet proposals as well as on the strengths and weaknesses of the UN itself. The Soviets are able to extricate themselves abroad and cut the costs of military assistance elsewhere while using multilateral diplomacy to prevent the United States from taking advantage of the retreat. Soviet public statements have proposed a wide array of measures to increase UN activities in international peace and security and also in the economic, social, and environmental spheres.
