Vol. 10, Number 41 Hampton, IA Wednesday, Oct. 11, 1995

September 27 - The nation of Macedonia, you will recall, is famous in history as the birthplace of Alexander the Great, whose vision of a world conquered by his sword and unified under his heel was an early prototype of what is today known as the New World Order. But before the present century closes, the same country may become the place where the New World Order begins to die.

On August 21 of this year, a young American soldier named Specialist Michael New, received orders to be deployed to Macedonia with 550 other members of the 3rd Infantry Division as peacekeepers for the United Nations. Once deployed to that country, Spc. New and his comrades in arms will be required to wear the blue berets or helmets and the insignia that constitute the military uniform of the New World army under UN authority.

They would in effect and probably in principle cease to be American soldiers. When he learned of this, Spc. New just said no. No, he would not wear the uniform of the United Nations. No, he would not violate his oath to support and defend the U.S. Constitution. No, he would not become a soldier for an army, a foreign power and a cause to which he had sworn no allegiance. Yes, he would gladly go to Macedonia if he could wear the American uniform he agreed to wear when he enlisted. Yes, he would happily transfer out of the unit if there were no other way to avoid trouble.

Spc. New s officers told him, in essence, to shut up, sit down and follow orders.

At this time, Spc. New has not disobeyed any orders and faces no charges. He is now on leave to the United States before his deployment to Macedonia next month, and American political leaders have an opportunity to meet him and listen to his case. They would be wise to do so. When news of his decision first broke, Spc. New received about a thousand letters of support, and soon the news was on the Internet, the closest approximation this country has to free discussion unfettered by the establishment press and its watchdogs.

What exactly are the merits of his case? Is he simply a disobedient soldier refusing to follow legal orders, or is he, as many Americans believe, a hero who stands alone against the federal leviathan, the U.S. military and the New World Order itself?

Article 47 if the UN charter creates what is called the "Military Staff Committee" under the authority of the Security Council "to advise and assistOon all questions relating to the Security Council s military requirements for the maintenance of international peace and security, the employment and command of forces placed at its disposal, the regulation of armament and possible disarmament."

The Military Staff Committee consists of the chiefs of staff of the member states of the Security Council, and it "shall be responsible under the Security Council for the strategic direction of any armed forces placed at the disposal of the Security Council." Those forces at the disposal of the Security Council include those wearing the insignia and uniforms of the UN peacekeeping forces in Macedonia.

Even if wearing the UN uniform and coming under the command of the Military Staff Committee and the Security Council were not enough to transfer a U.S. soldier to UN command, Spc. New s commander in Macedonia will be an officer in the army of Finland, whose command has never been approved by the U.S.

Congress and who lies entirely outside the U.S. chain of command. When U.S. soldiers don the UN uniform, then, it seems inescapable that they do in fact come under the command of the United Nations and cease to be American soldiers.

Spc. New may or may not be able to argue and win a case before a court martial, but what is at issue here is whether he and other American soldiers can be made to serve a power they never agreed to serve. If they can be so ordered, what are the consequences? In a letter of Sept. 1 to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Dennis Reimer, Spc. New s parents ask these questions.

"By what authority can the U.S. army transfer my son s allegiance without his permission?" and, perhaps, even more ominously, "If our son is captured while wearing the UN uniform with official status be that of an American prisoner of war?" "Who will work for his release? The United Nations or the United States of America?" In the end, Spc. New must do what his conscience tells him and face the consequences, and so must all other soldiers who thought they were going to serve their country and not someone or something else. Whatever the legal merits of his case, there s no question that Michael New is a hero, and he deserves the full support of his own government and his own fellow citizens before they too find themselves serving some successor to Alexander of Macedon as a master they never consented to serve.