Powerless UN Calls For Cease Fire

According to CNN.com U.N. chief Kofi Annan called on Thursday for an immediate end to the fighting between Israeli and Hezbollah forces. The secretary-general blamed Hezbollah for triggering the crisis and accused it of holding Lebanon hostage with its campaign against Israel. "While Hezbollah's actions are deplorable and, as I've said, Israel has a right to defend itself, the excessive use of force is to be condemned," Annan told the U.N. Security Council.

My first reaction to this is, when did Annan ever say that Israel has a right to defend itself? In an admittedly quick Google search I have found these statements attributable Annan, “I condemn without reservations the attack in southern Lebanon, and demand that Israeli troops be released immediately”; “I call again for an immediate halt to the disproportionate use of force by Israel, which has already killed and wounded many civilians; for the release of Israeli Army Corporal Gilad Shalit; and for the cessation of rocket fire into Israel,” and many similar statements. In fact, I could not find one statement where Annan has stated Israel's right to defend itself. And while Annan has called for the release of the kidnapped soldiers, I cannot find any statements condemning Hezbollah's actions.

In fact, many think that the U.N. hasn't passed a pro-Israeli resolution in more than 50 years. In my opinion, the U.N. has almost as much culpability for the present crises as does Hamas and Hezbollah. The U.N. has artificially increased the "right of return issue" with its redefinition of the term "refugee" in U.N. Resolution 194. If the definition of "Palestinian Refugee" was not expanded by U.N. Resolution 194, the Palestinian Refugees would number in the hundreds of thousands, not the millions currently being claimed. Interesting, of all the refugees in the world, the Palestinians are the only ones with its own U.N. agency, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

If Kofi Annan wants to support Israel's right to self defense than he should step aside and allow Israel to do what it deems necessary, without claiming that it is a “disproportionate response.” After all, who is to decide what a “proportionate response” would be?