We should not let the same thing happen to the United Nations. In the coming years. I can easily foresee that the United States will need the United Nations to intervene in areas of conflict or to tackle issues such as the international environment. world hunger. and refugee crises. It is unfair and shortsighted to judge the United Nations solely on its success or failure in dealing with an intractable. longstanding ethnic conflict such as that in the former Yugoslavia. Rather. we should look at its 50 years worth of experience in promoting collective security. humanitarian assistance and international cooperation in the environment and other areas.