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Invasion a Monstrosity, Says UN Leader
NEW YORK - In an extraordinary outburst, the president of the United Nations General Assembly has branded Israel's ground offensive in Gaza a "monstrosity" and a marked failure for the UN.
This image provided by the United Nations, shows Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, president-elect of the 63rd Session of the UN General Assembly, speaking to the GA in June 2008 at UN headquarters in New York. (AFP/UN/File/Eskinder Debebe) Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, of Nicaragua, blasted the Israeli action on Saturday as the UN Security Council convened its third Gaza emergency session.
"I think it's a monstrosity; there's no other way to name it," Mr Brockmann said. "Once again, the world is watching in dismay the dysfunctionality of the Security Council."
His remarks were seen as putting a slight upon the United States, which again prevented the council from issuing an agreed statement on the crisis.
The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, lamented Israel's incursion after a week-long bombardment of Gaza that had already killed at least 460 people and injured thousands more.
Israel has said it is targeting Hamas militants and resources, but according to early estimates about one quarter of those killed were civilians.
Mr Ban had expressed his extreme disappointment to the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, and had called for an immediate end to the ground operation, his spokesman said.
The Security Council failed to reach agreement on the Israeli action because the US again blocked consensus during the late-night emergency meeting.
Hamas must stop smuggling arms into Gaza and cease its rocket attacks on Israel, which were the "root cause" of violence in the region, said the deputy permanent representative for the US, Alejandro Wolff.
Mr Wolff said there was no point in the Security Council issuing a statement that Hamas would not honour. "We are not going to equate the actions of Israel, a member state of the United Nations, with the actions of the terrorist group Hamas. There is no equivalence there."
Asked his reaction to Mr Brockmann's criticism of the Security Council, Mr Wolff said: "I would urge him to focus on the dysfunctionality of other parts of this organisation."
Mr Wolff said the plight of the Palestinian people in Gaza was directly attributable to Hamas. "The problems the civilians are facing in Gaza are a function of how Hamas operates. It's a very densely populated area [with] Hamas deliberately melding into the population."
Israel began amassing troops and armoured vehicles on its border with the Gaza Strip days into the bombardment. Since last Monday UN officials have expressed fears about the impact of a land invasion.
Gaza has limited power and is reliant on Israeli co-operation for emergency supplies of medicines, food and fuel.
The UN has repeatedly called for a ceasefire but to no effect. Israel has continued to target Hamas militants in the territory, and Hamas has persisted with rocket attacks on cities in southern Israel.
Since the conflict began nine days ago the UN has accused Israel of a disproportionate response to the attacks and of breaching international law with its blockade, which it said punishes the mainly civilian population.
The UN spokesman for Mr Ban said he had told Mr Olmert the ground invasion would only intensify the suffering of Gaza's 1.5 million civilians.
The UN has not been alone in trying to broker a ceasefire; attempts by the European Union, the US and Russia have failed too.
The invasion began just hours after the EU announced it was sending a delegation to try to negotiate a ceasefire.
The French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, said the decision to send ground forces into Gaza was a "dangerous military escalation".
The US Department of State said any ceasefire must not allow a return to the status quo. "We are working towards a ceasefire that would not allow a re-establishment of the status quo ante, where Hamas can continue to launch rockets out of Gaza and to condemn the people of Gaza to a life of misery," a departmental spokesman said.
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160 Comments so far
Show AllMr Wolff said there was no point in the Security Council issuing a statement that Hamas would not honour. "We are not going to equate the actions of Israel, a member state of the United Nations, with the actions of the terrorist group Hamas. There is no equivalence there."
Well, what'd'ya know the yank is kinda right. After all, Isreal has killed 100 times the number of people that Hamas has. Why should Hamas listen to anything the UN says, has Isreal? I've always laughed at the people who've argued the un was going to take over the world, it won't/can't. It's almost as toothless as the former League of Nations... So much for the sacrifice of those who fought the Second World War hoping this sort of shit was at an end...
The UN will do nothing. US/UK/Izzyrul will thumb their noses at the world, as usual. UN is a waste of space, a hideous joke.
you hit the nail on the head there................useless fuckers
.You are conflating the Security Council, wherein one veto can make progress impossible, with the entirety of the United Nations. There are many functions performed by that body that save lives and bring much relief to suffering world wide.
.
We see things, not as they are, but as we are.
Anais Nin
Au Contraire.....
"There are many functions performed by that body that save lives and bring much relief to suffering world wide."
I've always thought the good they did was in spite of the UN. It was accomplished by the folks on the ground. It is a corrupt organization in my view.
Darn it, I hate to disagree with you as you know.
"You are conflating the Security Council, wherein one veto can make progress impossible, with the entirety of the United Nations."
But credit where credit is due, you are entirely correct here.
.But the folks on the ground are employees of UN agencies like UNESCO et al. Spend a few moments:
http://www.un.org/english/
Corrupt you say, how I ask?
Hate to disagree with me you say? Piffle says I.....
.
We see things, not as they are, but as we are.
Anais Nin
The employees on the ground are the ones trying hard to help people as they should.
Corrupt as in the missing funds that seem to show up every year, as in the oil for food program which is nothing more than an example of some African programs that were actually worse.
Nepotism is rampant. They are worse than our own government.
I think the thing that turns my stomach most is sending "UN" troops in as "peacekeepers" with orders not to fire unless directly attacked and in some cases not at all if they can withdraw.
One of my old corporals was in Africa with a peacekeeping force and believe me, I think the UN is wonderful compared to him.
"Hate to disagree with me you say? Piffle says I....."
You know I never disagree on things.
How true. Often the U.N. forces go beyond doing nothing, openly collaborating in brutality with the local police thugs, one example being Haiti.
Saturnalia, you are correct. The UN is useless except as a debating society that keeps a number of people employed in useless meetings and away from their countries where they may stir up mischief.
The US and Israel disregard all that the UN tries as beneath an empire's notice.
Kitty Lady
"The US and Israel disregard all that the UN tries as beneath an empire's notice."
So, who should we condemn - the UN, or the ones flouting international law?
"All Nature's difference keeps all Nature's peace." Alexander Pope
The UN operates on the principle of human rights - it is only useless because those who don't believe in human rights don't want it to be useful.
No, it's useless because it has no power to tax anyone. It has no army, no nation, it's a masturbation chamber. Nothing but goo will ever come out of it's 'hallowed halls'. The nations of the world, powerful or weak, would not accept that any 'supernational body' to have any real power over them or their actions. It's done more to keep the peace between nations only because no one want's to walk out of the organization (like Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan walked out from the LoN) and the bureaucrazy's of the world's nations have learned not to have 'secret' treaties (like they had prior to WWI).
Sadly human rights are only given to those people you think of as human. In 1776 a nation proclaimed that all men are created equal, except for the females and those who weren't white...
.It might profit your knowledge to spend a short time searching the web for all the wonderful things accomplished by the United Nations, but only if your inclined to learn.
.
We see things, not as they are, but as we are.
Anais Nin
I do actually think the humanitarian efforts of the un is a good thing. It's done quite a bit to prevent another outbreak of a major war between superpower states, or ones that start with small countries that drag in the superpowers. My main point of criticism is that there is nothing in how the un is organised that would prevent a nation like Isreal from acting as it does as long as they have the backing of one of the major powers (china, the usa or russia). It's not just Isreal that gets away with crap either. Darfur happens because China supports the country that controls that region, Rawanda happened because no one really cares about genocide (I'll include what happened to the Jews of Europe in that, had we really cared genocide wouldn't have happened in Cambodia back in the 70s, let alone all the other countries it's happened in other countries)
Perhaps I should have been more clear, but the way countries conduct their business isn't going to be limited by any sort of democratic body. Yes, they don't much mind if the un helps when there's a disaster or when they'd rather not fight a war... But the only time the un was effective at stopping(limiting really) a war was when the USSR walked out during the Korean war. Their history of preventing conflict isn't the best. Then again, it's better than anything else we've tried over the last few thousand years....
a norwegian medic is saying that he is finding depleted uranium in some of the paletinian victims in GULAG GAZA.
Uranium either comes from Russia or Canada - the US gets theirs from Canada.
Medics who are trying to get into Gaza can't and the ones that are there are working around the clock. I wish the Norwegian medic strength, both in the days that follow, and, hopefully, in his long life afterwords. A hospital is a legitimate a target as a child's playground in the middle of the day.
May the medic never feel guilt for not doing enough - because such guilt, born of shell shock, has no basis in truth.
The US also gets uranium from South Africa, which has over the past 10 or so years grovelled and prostrated itself in front of the Super powers, betraying many including Palestrinians who supported our liberation struggle. Israel on the other other hand maintained a steady supply of weapons and weapons technology to the Apartheid state.
Why would any nation of the world hold anything that the Unites States said or did up to anything but scorn while the United States has in office even for a few more weeks a President and administration that has openly admitted to crimes that the same people hold against others?
The UN is basically useless because of the leadership defects that the United States presents.
The world will never know the kind of leadership the United States could offer while the people of the United States remain silent concerning the crimes of their own elected officials. We will not even mention the crimes of the past, just the ones that are taking place NOW.
As for Israel, only the most die hard of the foolish would ever expect anything from Israel other than what they have exhibited for the last 60 years. An illegal, arrogant, ruthless 'rogue nation' deserving of no consideration by civilized people. If one were to consider the Old Testament accounts of the Israeli nation as 'history' v fiction; they were as terrible then as now, but now they have Nuclear capabilities. Now they are supported almost wholly by another 'rogue nation' that has Nuclear capabilities who have they used those weapons before on civilian targets and that is the United States of America.
The world indeed is in grave danger as long as this persists.
Your silence is your consent.
nurembergrevisited@gmail.com
'"I think it's a monstrosity; there's no other way to name it," Mr Brockmann said. "Once again, the world is watching in dismay the dysfunctionality of the Security Council.
"His remarks were seen as putting a slight upon the United States, which again prevented the council from issuing an agreed statement on the crisis."
While the UN is toothless, it is still valuable to state the truth for public record. If the US and Israel are going to prevent media coverage to stifle the truth, at least the UN (in this case) is making a public statement of condemnation.
"All Nature's difference keeps all Nature's peace." Alexander Pope
Here is Hussein's taking oath to AIPAC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cOJNC2EuJw
Obama has surrounded himself with Israel zealots including Rahm Emanuel.....I am Jewish and I say: Give back The Palestinians their land, their property, and their dignity.....They are our brothers.......
The rockets they send, in protest, are homemade devices with no targetting possible.......The Palestinians have no missles, no tanks, no sophisticated weaponry and the Israelis have denied their families food, electricity, and medicine.....David versus Goliath not even close, Genocide is the most appropriate term.
This last round is to bait Iran into coming to the rescue! So, Dick and George could then attack Iran. Which they were planning on doing August 29,2007 with the Israelis attacking Syria and U.S. was supposed to attack Iran (Project Checkmate) ....It was interrupted by Gates.
Aye, David had a sling when he faced Goliath. Moreover that sling could kill it's enemy, the Gazan's have nothing that can cause the same blow as David's sling.
Yeah, if only Iran would STFU. Fatwas and calls to stop oil shipments aren't going to help.
Unfortunately the Palestinians have no real support, just lip service by crappy regimes with their own interests at heart.
But I don't think Iran would be stupid enough to walk into that "trap." I think it's rather more of a concession prize from the US to the freaks in Israel who think this kind of crap will get them what they want. Carve up some territory, help out our fav. political party, etc.
Israel rarely makes a move that doesn't have our support and a strict timetable--all sticks and no carrots. They make sure that when they back down the perceived carrots are the cessation of death squad activity on their part and nothing further to benefit the Palestinian population, while they suck up another swath of land and firmly plant the wrench in international gears.
This will go down as the strangest siege in military history ever.
Any criticism of the UN is seriously misguided or plain evil. All of the UN's failures are its signatories' failures to uphold the UN Charter, their legal obligations. The idea of a truly united nations retains its huge potential, despite the elites casting their evil frames. Not surprisingly, the US and Israel violate the UN Charter and abuse their membership much more often and more deliberately than the other members so US claims that Israel's UN membership should lend credibility to Israel's policies is another dumping of yet more stinking elite kaka on the heads of the people. Are you going to keep taking it?
I agree. It's important they keep on bringing the resolutions up. It's important to show that our government is blocking necessary U.N. resolutions for its own selfish nefarious desires.
Perhaps as the heroes ride triumphantly over the stone throwers in their tanks and their US supplied armoured bulldozers they will get stung a few times and decide it wasn't a good idea to fight against men who can fight back. Imagine though what they are doing with no-one to witness. You need to have a good imagination.
Not really. The Israeli army dropped leaflets warning the people in Gaza to leave their homes. Many don't know where to go. I doubt that their homes will be there when they get back. And the neighbours who did not heed the warning will be lying around in pieces.
One doesn't even need a piss poor imagination to connect the dots.
Mr. Brockmann summed it up rather well.
Well put, Yohocoma and absolutely correct. The UN in NY was always a bad idea. I can remember many times since it was founded that the US announced it would withhold visas to land in NY for foreign heads of government/heads of state it didn't like. It has always been hostage to the whim of whatever government was in power in DC.
Rainborowe
Given the brutal televised genocide that is being commited by Israel, would it really be such a bad thing if, as Iran's Amedinejhad said, 'Israel's regime will be wiped from the pages of history'?
Walk in peace.
Repeal UNGA Resolution 181.
Ahmedi-Nejad didn't say the Israeli regime would be wiped from the pages of history, although that's the mistranslation that keeps being repeated in the US. What he said was more like it would be lost/forgotten to history--without any suggestion of it being removed, violently or otherwise.
I see less and less chance of Israel surviving in the long term. The state depends entirely on the largesse of the US taxpayer (or rather their governments and representatives so so far have persuaded themselves and the people they "serve" that their hard-earned dollars must be thrown at the Israeli bully.)
The whole Zionist adventure was, from its inception, part of the last throes of European colonialism. It was sold to them quite explicitly as such by the Zionist leader: We are Europeans like you. Let us be your colonists! Give us a place there and we'll take care of those pesky natives for you. Lucky for them, the USA came along to inherit it when the bankrupt Europeans had been persuaded to cut loose their other colonies after WW2.
What chaps my hide is that the American press keeps referring to it as "our ally." I'd always thought that an ally was a nation that contributed something to the relationship. (As in WW2 the Americans gave the Brits lend-lease and cans of Spam; the Brits gave the Americans intelligence and bases.) I'm damned if I can see what Israel has ever contributed to the well-being or safety of the USA. It's all a one-way street and worse: the worse being 9/11--so far.
Rainborowe
Rainborrowe--Apparently they "donate" to our politicans. Of course this only benefits our politicans and not the American people. But then again all sorts of folks are dontaing to our vichy congress so they aren't the only ones!
the initiate
OK I have done some reading on this whole thing but of courese not enough. But how can it be said that the "root cause" of this attack by Israel is Hamas's rocket firings, when the palestinian people are blockaded in, there lives are not normal or functional because of this. Plus, Hamas was democratically voted into rule by the people but that was taken away. Then of course you go way back. I listened to a show Amy Goodman had a few months ago (?) and it was described how the palestinians were practically thrown out of their homes in order to bring in the Israeli people and make a home land for them. I don't get it. Yes, there is older history there. Israeli's lost this land hundreds of years ago. But come on people. This whole conflict is like a horrible wound in the collective psyche. Someone describe, if you can or hint to me of how Israel can get a way with making a bad situation worse. Like this is going to solve their security problem. Please, they're just creating more angry revenge filled people in the world. Anyone beaten down by a bully will eventually, someday fight back. How long will it take before the 10yr olds or whatever, grow old enough to fight back for their parents death, or little sisters, etc. Ah! The thinking here is beyond comprehension... BTW- the U.S. might have the same problem eventually, Ya' think?
I concur.
Oho! So this is why so many of our children are being maimed and murdered in Afghanistan and Iraq - to make the world safe for Israelis to commit the genocidal slaughter of the Palestineans. How far sighted of Bush and the Senate.
When you see a picture of a Palestinian parent carrying their bloody child in their arms down the street, when you see an Israeli parent caring their bloody child into a hospital....does it really make any difference who is has the greatest degree of right or wrong any more?
Hamas and Israel are both at fault here. There is no question about that unless you are a liar.
There is no question that the UN is useless here as always. Without the power to enforce your decisions only a fool would believe they are relevant other than to issue condemnations.
Only Israel and her enablers (yes, that includes us) and Hamas and its enablers can stop this. And stop it they must.
Why is it so hard to stop shooting rockets into Israel, to stop incursions into Israel? Allow no terrorist attacks inside Israel. For Israel to withdraw, to stop her air and sea blockade, promise no incursions on the ground or by air. Seal the border between the two and live in peace for a bit to see if this can't be worked out.
Its time to look at things as they really are, not how we'd like them to be, not for any ideological reasons. To any of you that are blaming the US for this, your claims lack any credibility if you do not also blame the other responsible parties. And there is plenty to go around.
The only innocent people in this whole mess are the Palestinians trapped in Gaza between to warring sides.
Look at those pictures of those kids and tell me what difference it makes who started what. I did and it took me about one-second to decide those kids and their parents are the only ones that count. On both sides.
Please call your congressmen, representatives, e-mail your newspapers, whatever to see if enough pressure can be generated to make our coward in chief put pressure on Israel to stop. The waste is atrocious. It breaks my heart.
Thomas More:I like your heart and your last paragraph, both most of all. Happy New Year. I just finished a piece of protest art. To be continued. PS. (I call my illness, CFS/ME, the PS disease because I always remember something later and CD is "the" place where one can edit/correct.) I saw a photo on HuffPo yesterday and thought the man was an Israeli. He was Palestinian, when I read the caption. I'm Jewish, and I can't tell the difference between the people and neither can the Israeli security, so said an Israeli security guy in an interview several years ago. That they can't tell the difference if people are wearing similar clothing. P.S.2:it's not "equal" sides, and it's injustice to Palestinians. Injustice is not a big enough word, but I'm "out of words",almost....as Ali Abunimah said, "(we're)out of words", in a title last week, of an article posted on CD.
Thank you for your kind words. I can't tell you how hard this is...
Thomas More:I can somewhat imagine. It's been hard for me,too. People who are critical of Israel, here are hurting. I'd guess Israelis are hurting. Anyone with a sense of justice is hurting. The Israeli newspapers have more coverage of debate than in the U.S. Robert Fisk frequently quotes Amira Haas who writes for Ha'aretz and lives in a Palestinian town. Fisk reminds us that Haas, his friend and colleague, pointed out that it is the job of journalists to point out when governments are abusing power. She has an interesting history, also. Jewish, child of European Holocaust survivors. You may have heard her on DemocracyNow; she's there from time to time. www.democracynow.org for some recent interview transcript.
PS I just remembered, and googled to check it: Joe Hill's line "Don't Mourn - Organize!".
I think you make the best sense here, people on both sides are hurting.
Amira Haas, I have not read her. I will certainly look. Thank you.
A hard-hitting juxtaposition in this You-Tube/blog piece: "Is It For Freedom? Mourning the Innocent Lives Lost in Gaza" at:
http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com/diary/2404/is-it-for-freedom-mournin... Those who can be made to believe absurdities can be made to commit atrocities. Voltaire
Oops. Here's the link:
http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com/diary/2404/is-it-for-freedom-mourning-the-innocent-lives-lost-in-gaza
If you want this senseless slaughter of children on both sides to stop, STOP SUPPLYING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION TO THE ISRAELIS! No more reloads, no more spare parts to repair thier death machines.
Walk in peace.
Could you get the same guarantee from those supplying Hamas and Hezbolla and the other Arab countries?
Unilateral disarmament usually is not too successful.
Well, how about you make the Israelis aware that you will not supply them with arms unconditionally, that they better start negotiating? Instead of trying to resolve every issue militarily? Which is what Bush the first did to a certain extent. And which Clinton stopped. Did what Bush did result in the annihilation of Israel?
Sorry to say, Mr. More, but you and other people who try to attribute some kind of symmetrical equivalence between Israeli and Palestinian actions seem to be working from a serious lack of knowledge of the region's history - particularly post-1967.
---USAn---
Sorry, I didn't say anything was symetrical or equivalent, what I said was if you only attribute blame or agression to one side you are not credible.
As far as equlivency goes, if you are shooting your rifle art me, your suggestion is I should go get a rifle and not use my machine gun? Thats just silly. Attack me and I use everything I've got.
Exactly, you just argued for the Palestinian cause - except they don't have access to larger weapons.
In the case of a break-in, mugging and robbery of someone in their home, do you attribute any blame to the victim? With regard to the history of Palestine and Israel over the past 60 years, who has ben robbing and mugging who??? How many Isreali's lost their homes, shops, livelihoods to make way for posh Palestinian "settlements"?
These should be rhetorical questions, but in the amnesiac USA or racist Israel* people may not know the answer. So, please answer these questions.
Virtually 100% of Palestinians have family member or close friend who was killed by the Israeli military. I know those from talking to Palestinians where I live. But ror Israeli's the killing done by Palestinians has been only something on the 6 o'clock news.
* Read this by Israeli dissident Ian Pappe:
http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/20151
---USAn---
PJD
"Exactly, you just argued for the Palestinian cause - except they don't have access to larger weapons."
Hmmm...I didn't mean to and I'm not sure I did actually. Frankly I can't find much to reccommend either cause in this present screw up.
There are a lot of dead Israeli my friend, over the years. Especially when Israel became a nation. About the reverse of what you are seeing now except many, many more Isreli dead and some very cruel acts that I haven't seen any reports of the Israeli engaging in.....So what. Over these years there has been attack after attack, first one then the other.
That makes no difference now. The Arab countries made one mistake after another, the Israeli seem to have matched them if you ask me.
"Virtually 100% of Palestinians have family member or close friend who was killed by the Israeli military."
Thats a pretty small sampling to make such a sweeping claim. And if something isn't done fairly quickly, there will be a lot more. The thing that confuses me is the claim that the Israeli are committed to a genocide of the Palestinians. If they were they are fully capable of accomplishing it militarily. So why do folks keep tryiong to claim thats their aim? ( a question that just popped up, nothing to do with what you said)
"With regard to the history of Palestine and Israel over the past 60 years, who has ben robbing and mugging who???"
I believe its fairly well documented who attacked who in history, I believe it was the Arab countries on the plus side of that count.
I believe they lost the lands originally in those wars did they not? The Golan heights were used by the Syrians to fire artillery into Israel as I remember it.
None of that has much to do with the Palestinians now. I franklly don't know when the last time the Israeli took any land, do you by any chance.
I am still of the same mind, I don't give a damn who did what, this is not helping anyone and has to stop. I doubt its a greatt solace to a parent looking at a dead child to say, I'm in the right. I can tell you I am absolutely sure that Israel and Hamas are in the wrong.
Thanks for the link.