What gets in the way of peace?

At the global level, mankind remains a world of nation-states, each soverign, each territorial. George Bush Sr.  understood that the democratic ideal is meaningless if America is unwilling to abide by a democratic world leadership. Unfortunately, his son, fails still to grasp that concept. The problem is not a lack of communication or a general failure to understand basic human rights or the need to protect them. The problem is the failure of the world's nations to unite meaningfully, and provide coherent standards against which all nations may be held accountable. When the United States refutes accountability to the same principals  upon which our country was founded, we dare not hope others might follow our lead. Corruption is as corruption does. I believe corruption, more than any other cause, stands first in the way of peace.