Secretary of State Rice has stated that Israel has an “obligation” to respond to the U.N.’s demand for a cease-fire in Lebanon.
Since when does any sovereign government have an obligation to reply or have anything at all to do with the U.N.?
Keep in mind that Rice is not merely claiming that it would be wise for Israel to address the U.N. demand; she’s stating there is an actual obligation, thereby implying that the U.N. is sovereign over the government of Israel, when it comes to the actions of Israel.
No such thing is true. If it were, the U.S. would also have to surrender sovereignty to the U.N. In fact, the very same Bush Administration who now says Israel is obliged to answer to the U.N. would never have entered Iraq, because it had no permission from the U.N. to do so.
The U.N. is a body with membership that includes free nations; totalitarian nations; and terrorist-supporting states. No free country, such as Israel or the U.S., has any interest whatsoever in surrendering sovereignty to a body that attempts to split the difference between nations with Constitutions, individual rights, and free elections, on the one side; and countries run by ruthless dictatorships and violent gangs, on the other.
I know that Secretary Rice and President Bush would reply that they mean no such thing. But when you use the word “obligation” you had better mean what you’re saying; and you had better be right.
