Like Mark Steyn’s book (discussed below), John Bolton has a message. Indeed, it’s a message that would resonate with the readers of Steyn’s book, if only his message were deemed worthy of coverage in the mainstream media. Pamela at Atlas Shrugs and Bruce Kesler at Democracy Forum tracked down Ambassador Bolton’s comments on the disgusting UN resolution condemmning Israel for the accidental death of 19 civilians in the course of its ongoing defensive operation in Gaza. Ambassador Bolton’s comments, made in the United Nations on Friday, were reported by a news outlet based in Calcutta:
The U.S. Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, launched a scathing attack on the United Nations Friday.
Bolton was furious over the adoption by the General Assembly of a resolution which said the assembly regretted the deaths of 19 civilians in an attack by the Israeli military in the town of Beit Hanoun last week.
Despite the resolution being significantly watered down at the behest of the United States, and being passing by 156 votes to seven, Bolton launched a blistering attack on the UN, and many of its members.
“Many of the sponsors of that resolution are notorious abusers of human rights themselves, and were seeking to deflect criticism of their own policies,” he said.
“This type of resolution serves only to exacerbate tensions by serving the interests of elements hostile to Israel’s inalienable and recognized right to exist.”
“This deepens suspicions about the United Nations that will lead many to conclude that the organization is incapable of playing a helpful role in the region,” Bolton continued.
“In a larger sense, the United Nations must confront a more significant question, that of its relevance and utility in confronting the challenges of the 21st century. We believe that the United Nations is ill served when its members seek to transform the organization into a forum that is a little more than a self-serving and a polemical attack against Israel or the United States,” he said.
“The Human Rights Council has quickly fallen into the same trap and de-legitimized itself by focusing attention exclusively on Israel. Meanwhile, it has failed to address real human rights abuses in Burma, Darfur, the DPRK, and other countries,” Bolton charged.
“The problem of anti-Israel bias is not unique to the Human Rights Council. It is endemic to the culture of the United Nations. It is a decades-old, systematic problem that transcends the whole panoply of the UN organizations and agencies,” he continued.
Ambassador Bolton’s November 17 General Assembly statement has been posted in its entirety at the site of the United States Mission to the UN.
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