Something's fishy about sales pitch for Law of the Sea Treaty

Clouds over the southern Indian Ocean. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech)Every few years, Congress takes up the issue of the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), officially referred to in the international community as the U.N. Convention for the Law of the Sea. The convention is essentially a constitution for the world's oceans, but the economic protections and navigation rights come at a price.

LOST advocates would have us believe that when the treaty first reared its head 30 years ago, President Ronald Reagan refused to sign due to technicalities, which were addressed in 1994. Reagan questioned more than technicalities, however.

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Panetta happy to see lobbyist Lott push for ratification of Law of the Sea Convention

(Photo: U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Comm.)Excerpt from UN Convention on Law of the Sea. Revenue would be sent to a bureaucracy in Jamaica. (Snip from document at U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee) As hearings got underway on the Law of the Sea Convention on Tuesday, Sec. of State Hillary Clinton urged the U.S. Senate to ratify the agreement. Ms. Clinton was taking the same stance her husband took during his presidency—sacrifice U.S. sovereignty based on a lot of hopes related to a document that contains as much wiggle room as a giant strip-tease joint. 

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