National security expert: Law of the Sea treaty a ‘question of sovereignty’ [VIDEO]

For three decades, the United States has declined to sign on to a U.N. treaty that would give unprecedented taxing and permitting authority over activity on international waters to a U.N.-created agency.

But the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea has been making its way though committee in the Senate, and a vote could come up before the end of the year. (RELATED: Trent Lott explains support for treaty he once opposed in the Senate)

National security analyst Frank Gaffney warns that signing the treaty would cede a significant portion of American sovereignty to an international body that is not electorally accountable to U.S. citizens.

“Suddenly, there isn’t a part of our society, our economy, our industrial capacity that isn’t going to be at the mercy of people who are completely unaccountable to us,” Gaffney told The Daily Caller’s Ginni Thomas. “This is a question of sovereignty.”

“It’s a question of America as we have known it, and I believe President Obama is determined to try and jam this through, because he recognizes it will be the perfect complement to the other wrecking operations that he’s been running against the rest of our country,” he continued.

The treaty has support from companies like Shell Oil, business groups like the American Petroleum Institute and U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and elected and appointed officials like President Barack Obama, Sen. John McCain and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

Gaffney, president of the Council for Security Policy, is urging interested parties to read the treaty instead of taking other people’s word that it benefits the U.S.

“What’s in this treaty is actually not in the interest of the oil and gas industry,” he said. “What will flow from this treaty … is not going to be in the interest of the United States Navy or the military, more generally. And more to the point, it’s not going to be in the interest of the American people.”

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/06/10/national-security-expert-law-of-the-sea-treaty-a-question-of-sovereignty-video/#ixzz1y1J6iwvg

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JUNE 14TH HEARING ON THE LAW OF THE SEA TREATY:

Former George W. Bush administration officials testified on the United Nations Law of the Sea Treaty, an international convention that sets rules for maritime travel and commerce. The treaty establishes a system for resolving disputes in international waters and recognizes sovereign rights over a country's continental shelf out to 200 nautical miles and beyond if the country can provide evidence to substantiate its claims.

Rumsfeld, Donald - Secretary

Groves, Steven - Fellow

FULL VIDEO:

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WHAT CAN YOU DO TO STOP THIS?

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SENATOR/REPRESENTATIVE AND TELL THEM TO VOTE 'NO' ON THIS TREATY.

The Left, supported by Obama’s political appointees in the DOD such as Leon Panetta and Martin Dempsey (whom the Obama Admin has coached to deliver testimonies favorable to the Law of the Sea Treaty), has renewed its push to get the Law of the Sea Treaty ratified. If it is ratified, it will bring about disastrous results for US sovereignty, prosperity, businesses, and national security (especially, but not exclusively, the Navy and naval operations).

For all of these reasons and more, we conservatives need to stop the LOST treaty dead in its tracks. Specifically, we must make sure that enough Senators will vote against it to stop it. 67 votes are needed to ratify this abomination of a treaty; that means that if just 34 Senators vote no, the treaty will be stopped. (Of course, if even more than just 34 Senators vote against it, it will be an even stronger signal, and we may manage to kill the treaty once and for all, or at least for the next few decades.)

How can we accomplish that? Only one way: by convincing as many GOP Senators as possible to vote against this abomination of a treaty.

And how do we do that? By sending messages to them (and talking to them or their staffers whenever possible). We need to use all means of communication with them: the phone, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and personal meetings.

Phone calls and emails are the most likely to reach your Senators (or, at least, their closest staffers) and the most likely to result in a reply. If you call your Senator’s office during business hours, it’s almost certain that someone will pick up the phone (unless the lines are occupied), listen to your arguments, and respond to you or promise to convey your message to the Senator himself. If you email your Senator (preferrably through the form provided on his/her website), the message will reach his/her office immediately, be processed by the Intranet Quorum program, and be ready by a staffer, who will likely reply and, with any luck, convey the message to the Senator, especially if many people send him emails urging him not to ratify the treaty.

Facebook posts on the Congressman’s wall might not be read, but if enough people post the same message, especially in a thread pertaining to a related subject (e.g. the Navy), there’s a good chance that the Senator or his staffers will read these messages and take note.

Tweets may or may not be noticed by the staffers, let alone the Senator himself, but if enough people send tweets on this issue, the Senatator and his staff WILL hear the message.

So whichever avenue we use, and we should use all four, our chance of succeeding depends on our NUMBERS. There must be enough of us to make sure that Senators pay attention and act accordingly.

So not only should we call, email, and tweet them ourselves, we also need to get our friends to do the same.

What message should we convey to them?

We need to tell them the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about the treaty. We need to tell them that LOST would be disastrous for America’s sovereignty, the economy, businesses, and national security. We need to tell tem that the military would be hog-tied and inhibited, while the country would have to surrender tens of billions of dollars in royalties from the exploitation of its undersea resources (e.g. oil and natural gas). And we need to remind them that Ronald Reagan opposed the treaty for these (and other) reasons and would’ve still opposed this treaty if he were alive.

We should make no secret of our opinion of this treaty and should not mince words, but should avoid hyperbole and extreme words. We should be polite, yet firm when speaking to them. And we need to treat these Senators with respect for as long as they are in office. Remember, we want them to agree with us. We want them to do something we are asking them to do. We want them to be our allies – to be on our side. So we must be friendly to them and treat them with respect. That applies even to liberal and moderate Republicans such as Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, Bob Corker, and Lisa Murkowski.

So, folks, go time to roll up our sleeves and start campaigning. Call your Senators, send them emails and tweets, and post messages on their Facebook pages. Be firm, yet polite. Convince them to vote against the LOST. Here’s a list of Senators who do not yet oppose the treaty (most of whom can be swayed):

Alexander, Lamar – (R – TN)Class II
455 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-4944 
Email Him! www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Email
Tweet Him! http://twitter.com/#!/senalexander
Ayotte, Kelly – (R – NH)Class III
144 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-3324 
Email Her! www.ayotte.senate.gov/?p=contact
Tweet Her! http://twitter.com/#!/kellyayotte
Brown, Scott P. – (R – MA)Class I
359 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-4543 
Email Him! www.scottbrown.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/emailscottbrown
Tweet Him! http://twitter.com/#!/ussenscottbrown
Cochran, Thad – (R – MS)Class II
113 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-5054 
Email Him! www.cochran.senate.gov/email.html
Tweet Him! http://twitter.com/#!/SenThadCochran
Collins, Susan M. – (R – ME)Class II
413 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-2523 
Email Her! http://www.collins.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email
Tweet Her! http://twitter.com/#!/senatorcollins
Corker, Bob – (R – TN)Class I
185 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-3344 
Email Him! www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactMe
Tweet Him! http://twitter.com/#!/senbobcorker
Enzi, Michael B. – (R – WY)Class II
379A RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-3424 
Email Him! http://www.enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact?p=e-mail-senator-enzi
Not on Twitter
Graham, Lindsey – (R – SC)Class II
290 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-5972 
Email Him! http://lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.EmailSenatorGraham
Tweet Him! http://twitter.com/#!/grahamblog
Grassley, Chuck – (R – IA)Class III
135 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-3744 
Email Him! www.grassley.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Tweet Him! http://twitter.com/#!/CHUCKGRASSLEY
Hutchison, Kay Bailey – (R – TX)Class I
284 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-5922 
Email Her! www.hutchison.senate.gov/?p=email_kay
Tweet Her! http://twitter.com/#!/kaybaileyhutch
Isakson, Johnny – (R – GA)Class III
131 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-3643 
Email Him! www.isakson.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Tweet Him! http://twitter.com/#!/senatorisakson
Johanns, Mike – (R – NE)Class II
404 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-4224 
Email Him! www.johanns.senate.gov/public/?p=ContactSenatorJohanns
Tweet Him! http://twitter.com/#!/mike_johanns
Kirk, Mark – (R – IL)Class III
524 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-2854 
Email Him! www.kirk.senate.gov/?p=contact
Tweet Him! http://twitter.com/#!/SENATORKIRK
Lugar, Richard G. – (R – IN)Class I
306 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-4814 
Email Him! www.lugar.senate.gov/contact/
Tweet Him! http://twitter.com/#!/dicklugar
Tweet his Staff! http://twitter.com/#!/senatorlugar
McCain, John – (R – AZ)Class III
241 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-2235 
Email Him! www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact…
Tweet Him! http://twitter.com/#!/senjohnmccain
McConnell, Mitch – (R – KY)Class II
317 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-2541 
Email Him! www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=contact
Tweet Him! http://twitter.com/#!/mcconnellpress
Murkowski, Lisa – (R – AK)Class III
709 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-6665 
Email Her! www.murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Contact
Tweet Her! http://twitter.com/#!/lisamurkowski
Portman, Rob – (R – OH)Class III
338 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-3353 
Email Him! www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact?p=contact…
Tweet Him! http://twitter.com/#!/robportman
Snowe, Olympia J. – (R – ME)Class I
154 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-5344 
Email Her! www.snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact?p=email
Tweet Her! http://twitter.com/#!/senatorsnowe
Toomey, Patrick J. – (R – PA)Class III
502 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
 (202) 224-4254 
Email Him! www.toomey.senate.gov/?p=contact
Tweet Him! http://twitter.com/#!/sentoomey

US SENATE CONTACT INFORMATION

US REPRESENTATIVE CONTACT INFORMATION

RELATED LINKS: 

LAW OF THE SEA TREATY WILL SINK AMERICA ECONOMY 

NEWS, RESEARCH PAPERS, TESTIMONIES AND TRANSCRIPTS ON THE LAW OF THE SEA TREATY 

OPINION PIECES 

BLOG COVERAGE AND VIDEOS

ORGANIZATIONS WITH PUBLISHED MATERIAL ON THE LAW OF THE SEA TREATY

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THE FOLLOWING IS PROPAGANDA TAKEN FROM THE UNITED NATIONS OCEANS AND LAW OF THE SEA WEBSITE:

30th ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION
ON THE LAW OF THE SEA
1982-2012

READ THE TREATY HERE