U.S. foreign policy is gaining support at the United Nations and there is less emphasis on linking foreign aid to how a recipient country votes, the American ambassador says. Some Arab envoys, however, expect the Bush administration and Congress to put pressure on recipients of American aid to rescind a General Assembly resolution adopted in 1975 that equates Zionism and racism. Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering, the U.S. permanent representative, told reporters recently the idea of linking U.S. foreign aid to supportive U.N. votes ``never rose to massive proportions, and the fact is that there is less focus now on scorecarding in aid than there was before. ``I don't think at this stage one can say this is completely a dead letter, but I don't see it rising to high prominence. ... I don't believe there is such overwhelming interest in it. ``I think we, in fact, should give assistance where we believe it is in our broad foreign policy interests to do so, all factors considered.'' The ambassador said nothing of the Zionism-racism resolution and Arab statements, made later, that some members of Congress wanted to penalize nations that did not follow the U.S. line. In Decemb is chairman. ``We have a list of who the aid recipients are and how the vote was, and do they understand their aid is in jeopardy?'' Moynihan said. ``I mean, enough is enough. ``The Soviet Union ... no longer rewards that behavior. Have they learned it and do they know that this country is angry about that because they have put peace in jeopardy in a place they had no business bothering in? ``What does it mean to Chile? What does it mean to Sri Lanka? Whose business is it in the Ivory Coast to cause instability in the Middle East?'' Moynihan called the document ``a low point'' in U.N. behavior and an attempt to politicize the General Assembly. Nearly 70 percent of political resolutions received unanimous support in the 44th General Assembly last year, according to the latest voting report. That compares with 64 percent in 1988, 60 percent in 1987 and 58 percent in 1986. It said other U.N. members voted with the United States 23.3 percent of the time on the 16 issues, which ranged from the invasion of Panama to the annual question of accepting Israel's credentials. When all General Assembly votes are examined, the figure declines to 16.9 percent. Some U.N. diplomats say voting the same way does not guarantee an identical point of view. They also suggest that, if more countries are voting with the United States, changes in U.S. policy may be the reason.
