No sane person in the world believes that the United States, Russia or
China could be subjected to purist international law. The United States has
killed thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the last
few months encouraged Pakistan to make an extremely brutal military move in its
Swat Valley. The United States was not required to account for it because
everyone understands that this is the price of the terrible War on Terror.
Russia committed blood-curdling war crimes in Chechnya, while China deprives its
citizens of basic rights and is conducting a wicked occupation in Tibet. They
are not asked to pay for this because everyone understands that you don't mess
with superpowers.
Meanwhile, the folks who deal with real power, such as the prime minsiter, foreign minister, the relevant ambassadors, those sort of people, are injecting the issue into their dealings with their American counterparts. You want our cooperation on this that and the other? Well, here's another item on the list of things that need to be dealt with. (It's also in the American interest to block the human-rights-wrong-headeds, given the way America wages war).
These are among the reasons the Jews need their own sovereign state. So that when antisemites try to kill Jews they'll be killed themselves; and when their allies - the antisemites, the hypocrites and the befuddled - try to protect them they'll fail. It's a nasty world out there, and hoping for the best of human nature is a fools errand. Or worse.
3 comments:
Unfortunately it's the Haaretz of the world who stand at the head of the line screaming for Jews to happily commit suicide in the name of some high minded liberal ideal that no one but them embraces.
ah, but Ari Shavit is not Haaretz - for better or for worse the times when you could judge a newspaper by its writers and vice versa is past. I've found Ari Shavit repeatedly to be capable of reality based thinking
there are so few of those around that once you have listened to one of them their names stick
rgds,
Silke
You left out Sri Lanka. The UN refused to investigate the THOUSANDS of civilians killed in the civil war because of opposition from Security Council members (I think China) as well as India.
It is remarkable that Russia remains in the G-8 given its actions in Chechnya and effective annexation of Abkhazia and Ossetia.
Lisa
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