UN Note: The Missing U.S. Ambassador

Experienced United Nations observers uniformly noted that the US crusade to bury the Goldstone report (holding Israel and Hamas accountable for war crimes) was one of the fiercest of any waged in recent years. But somehow US Ambassador Susan Rice missed the General Assembly vote. Susan Rice, known for her powerful support for accountability regarding war crimes in Darfur, regardless of potential political consequences, had of course reversed herself when the issue was accountability for Gaza. That was no surprise. The call for holding all sides accountable for human rights violations and potential war crimes in Gaza was clearly the kind of human rights issue Rice had publicly dismissed as "anti-Israel crap" just last April.

But still -- the US had invested enormous efforts to influence [read: weaken] the General Assembly resolution. So where was the US ambassador last Thursday afternoon when the Assembly culminated its intense two-day debate on the Goldstone report and accountability in Gaza? It was left to the deputy ambassador, Alejandro Wolff, to explain and cast Washington's negative vote. There was lots of speculation why Rice was not there herself - had she been called to the White House for last-minute consultations? Would her presence somehow give the resolution and thus the Goldstone report itself too much significance? Was her deputy better at playing "bad cop"? Actually, it was none of the above. The US Ambassador to the United Nations, Her Excellency Susan Rice, was indeed in New York, but not at United Nations headquarters. The defining clue came at 11 p.m. that night, when The Daily Show With Jon Stewart came on the air. Featuring special guest Ambassador Susan Rice.

The hit show of Comedy Central, The Daily Show airs in the late-night slot. But it always tapes the show ahead of time, around 5:00 in the afternoon. The UN vote to endorse the Goldstone report took place at 4:45.

 

Comments

[alexa07]

I happened upon Susan Rice's uninspiring guest appearance on Jon Stewart. Not funny, & he seemed falling over himself to be pleasing to her (not his usual routine). I am not surprised she missed the vote at the UN as her comments have been nearly as cold, callous as Bolton's in regard to the regional problems. Not much hope here, President Obama?

[vascopyjama]

If you want Susan Rice to come running, just yell "Veto". She'll be here in a flash.

[lungfish]

Doesn't surprise me... some people and countries are above the law. America loves to point a finger at human rights abuses committed by others but when it comes to the US and its allies there is a glaring double standard.
We still owe the world an accounting for the human rights violations committed by Bush/Cheney and their enablers from both parties. Israel gets a free pass on most crimes but Sudan is appropriately criticized...
And now Bush is a motivational speaker.... while our representatives selectively choose who persecute and who to ignore... We look like total idiots.

[Macready]

you are so right lungfish . . .

[Ergon]

For the record, the situation in Darfur was not only wildly exagerrated by Western NGO's using figures pulled out of er, hats, but no mention was made of arms pouring in to secessionists from US client states Chad and Uganda, or the number of ceasefires broken by them.
The US is very selective about which war crimes it chooses to investigate, about par for the course for a country that has exempted itself from war crimes charges.

[duxguts]

I think you are missing the point. The US Ambassador to the UN job description just say veto anything that mentions Israel.

[phute]

Rice is an utterly hopeless appointee.
She supported the illegal invasion of Iraq and is as much of a hawk as Cheney.

[Macready]

well said phute . . .

[holeybuybull]

Rice just vocalizes Rahm's policy decisions.

[messy - Huffpost Blogger]

Self defense is NOT a war crime.

[bbsnews]

messy,

So do you honestly believe that shooting civilians with white flags is "self-defense" - I find that truly mind-boggling.

Every person that I know who has read the entire report is simply appalled at what Israel did, and you really believe you can pass it off as "self-defense."

[Freenation]

calling war crime a war crime is not a crime too...

[CigarGod]

You are correct.
But, Israel went beyond self-defense.
I suggest you spend this week reading Goldstone...instead of believing summaries from others.

[bbsnews]

Talk about missing the point. The American Ambassador cannot be seen as protecting any country against charges of war crimes, especially when they are as warranted as they are in this case, and regardless of it being Israel as the guilty party.

The Goldstone Report is not going away and the Obama administration has recognized that.

I look forward to even more forceful encouragement of Israel by the United States to fully investigate the extremely serious charges outlined in the Goldstone Report and bring those who committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity to justice.

The American military does not shoot civilians with white flags, and claiming that other countries need to do so in "self-defense" or to "fight the war on terrorism" is pure insanity.

Now add in how the Obama administration has of this writing *still* not set a time for President Obama to meet up with Bibi while he is here in the United States tomorrow and make what you will of that.

It's the Goldstone Report or the colonies. I wonder which one Israel will choose?

[BassMonk]

"The American Ambassador cannot be seen as protecting any country against charges of war crimes"

Since when?

[sticksnstones]

Since when ? Since our own government adopted as official policy, sanctioned by the DOJ Office of Legal Councel, to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity, as defined by the Geneva Conventions.

Kind of makes us look a tad hypocritical, no ? Gaza has been described as the Israeli gulag. We have our own gulag at Guantanamo..... still.

[SiberianRat]

The US has ZERO credibility when it comes to accountability and human rights. The little bit we did have went out the window with Bush and it won't be back for a very long time, if at all.

[Macready]

totally agree with you SiberianRat

[CigarGod]

I'm really not sure we ever had much credibility.
There were huge portions of the population that fought for Native American rights...back in the day....but more powerful forces were still able to justify the slaughter, taking their lands, etc.
The war mongering capitalists had great PR, way back then, too.

It is hard to cut through the B.S. of any given situation to find truth, but I think anytime our leaders start demonizing and killing a group...you can almost bet they have something we want....and are suppressed by an authoritarian regime....that we support with arms, training and clandestine activity.