U.S. Vetoes UN Vote Condemning Israel Over Yassin
Thu Mar 25, 2004 07:16 PM ET ORE
By Grant McCool
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution by Arab nations to condemn Israel for assassinating Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin. The Bush administration, alone among major powers in not condemning Monday's assassination as an extrajudicial killing, rejected the resolution because it did not also denounce Yassin's group Hamas for suicide bombings in Israel.
The vote was 11 in favor, three abstentions and the U.S. veto.
"Israel's action has escalated tensions in Gaza and the region, and could set back our effort to resume progress toward peace," U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said in a statement before the vote. "This Security Council does nothing to contribute to a peaceful settlement when it condemns one party's actions and turns a blind eye to everything else occurring in the region," Negroponte said.
Washington's "no" vote killed the resolution because it is one of the five permanent members of the council with veto power. Britain, Germany and Romania abstained after Algeria, negotiating for Arab nations, rejected an amendment they wanted that would have condemned "atrocities" against Israelis.
The measure was supported by China, Russia, France, Angola, Chile, Pakistan, Spain, Algeria, Benin, Brazil and the Philippines. Israel dismissed a growing international outcry over the assassination of Yassin, the quadriplegic spiritual leader of Hamas, killed in an air strike outside a mosque in Gaza City.
Hamas, which is bent on Israel's destruction, said it would target Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other top officials to avenge Yassin's death. Khaled Meshaal, Hamas's political chief living in exile in Syria, said on Thursday attacks would be confined to Israel and the Palestinian territories despite U.S. warnings to its citizens of a heightened security risk.
Note: The Bush Administration publically condemned Israel's extra-legal assasinations in the daily news cycle; but then takes actions that neutralize their comments by in this case, vetoing the UN Security Council Resolution. And why is this not front page news in any of the major market newspapers in America when it is in most other leading international newspapers? Even liberal bloggers like Eric Alterman and Paul Krugman say nothing about it. Being Jewish is not a justifiable excuse for failing to denounce Israel's illegal actions any more than being American would be an excuse for acquiescing to the assasination of Fidel Castro, or Saddam, or Gadaffi by the CIA.
Hopefully sometime in the future our country's leaders will demand adherence to International law by it's "friends" as well as by it's "enemies".
posted by Richard at
Friday, March 26, 2004
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