“You and what army?” redux
I was going to write a midlength post on the absurdity of the UN’s call to Ahmadinejad to suspend Iran’s nuclear program or face sanctions. The resolution was considered “mandatory” and “binding,” words that are essentially meaningless in the context of the UN and Iran. Or perhaps the UN and anything.
Well, Tammy Bruce called this one. Not that it was so difficult to call. But she did it with special flair and verve.
And Ahmadinejad finessed me–and the UN. He already has responded by rejecting the UN resolution. Surprise, surprise!
“Binding,” indeed! The UN has no power except by the consent of its member nations, and the threat of sanctions. And the latter is almost amusing after the Oil for Food scandal in Iraq.
Another irony: putting teeth into the UN’s ability to halt the nuclear programs of rogue and tyrannical states is actually one of the things the buildup to the war in Iraq was meant to accomplish. But in the rush to tear down that effort, the UN itself lost whatever legitimacy it might have gained through that avenue.
Let’s see… when Israel ignores and rejects UN resolutions, that’s perfectly fine, but when Iran does so, it is not?
Iran should honor UN resolutions. And so should Israel.
Yo, Perry:
Hizb’allah, too? 1559 anyone? Rather selective on our choice of who should honor what, aren’t we?
The Pali’s as well? Lebanon? Syria? Anybody?
I think Neo’s right on this one…the UN is a sad caricature of liberal “one-worldness”: a collection of thugs, corrupt politicians, and power-hungry kleptocrats masquerading as a “world body,” with peace as its only interest. Feh!
Perry – “…Israel ignores and rejects UN resolutions…”
Here’s the thing – most people forget that, for example, UN Security Council Resolution 242 included these words:
“Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict;
Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force; ”
In other words, this is a TWO-PART thing, with responsibilities on both sides, not just the Israeli side.
Until the “Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of ISRAEL..”, takes place, Israel is not obligated to withdraw from “territories occupied..”
As you know, when Israel, and later Jordan, concluded peace treaties with Israel, all of those 2 countries territorial claims were satisfied by Israel.
About that mighty UN resolution – I can’t help thinking of a mother, trying to rein in her 4-year-old: “I’m going to count to three – only one more time…..”
Perry, it’s not that it’s “okay” if Israel ignores the resolutions. It’s that the resolutions are meaningless.
As a couple people pointed out, Israel can honor all the resolutions you please but if they continue to be attacked it means nothing. Without the ability (or will) to enforce peace on both sides the UN is just blowing hot air. (The root of “enforce” is “force.”)
The US tried to get the UN to enforce UN resolutions against Iraq. How well did that work? Saddam spent 10 years giving the world the finger while the horror of dying Iraqi children fueled world animosity toward the US. (Google it, if your memory is selective.)
So does Iran have any reason to take the UN seriously? The UN talking tough is a joke… and the idea is that the UN is supposed to manage this stuff instead of individual nations such as the US? Our talking tough gets immediately condemned by just about everyone. (Maybe they are afraid we actually mean it.) After Iraq it’s at least slightly possible that we’d be taken seriously. Before Iraq, not so much.
Iran perfectly understands that UN resolutions, even “binding” ones, are completely meaningless. They can’t enforce *anything* without the force of the United States, and have proven that when push comes to shove they don’t *want* us to enforce anything.
Because it, like, you know, involves force.
Duh.
It shouldn’t be too much longer before the Christians and Druze can start taking their revenge and balancing the power equation. See what happens when a nation allows islamic thugs to infest? Lebanon can always sell rubble to help rebuild. We must look on the bright side. Lots of countries are needing fillder for low spots, swamps, road building and the like.