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| Vetoed at the UN after all | |||
| 2011-02-19 | |||
| The United States on Friday voted against a UN resolution that would condemn settlements in the West Bank as "illegal." The vote at the UN Security Council saw 14 states vote in favor with no abstentions. The vote was not adopted because of the opposition of a permanent member state.
The U.S. vetoed a controversial Palestinian Authority resolution at the United Nations Security Council as pressure on the administration mounted in the House. A letter urging Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to stand up against the resolution condemning Israel quickly racked up signatures in the House on Friday. Reps. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) and Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) circulated the letter, which had been signed by at least 110 members, making the rounds beginning Thursday afternoon and again later on Friday. The letter came on the same day that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) renewed their effort to secure a veto of the resolution, which the U.S. can do as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council. "As we wrote to the president last month, the Palestinian leadership's decision to reject the difficult but vital responsibility of making peace with Israel through direct negotiations, and instead to advocate for anti-Israel measures by the United Nations Security Council, is counterproductive and unacceptable," Cantor and Hoyer said in a joint statement Thursday.
The 14 other Security Council members voted in favor of the resolution, reflecting the wide support for the Palestinian-backed draft which had over 100 co-sponsors. U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the United States agrees with the rest of the council and the wider world "about the folly and illegitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity." But she said the U.S. believes "it is unwise" for the U.N.'s most powerful body to attempt to resolve key issues between the Israelis and Palestinians. | |||
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #4 It's an "Ivy League B+" - that would be a C- / D anywhere else. |
| Posted by: CincinnatusChili 2011-02-19 11:53 |
| #3 What's with this B+ diplomacy? From where I'm sitting they still have to look up to see C-. |
| Posted by: Alan Cramer 2011-02-19 10:53 |
| #2 Susan Rice makes John The 'Stache look better every frigging day with her anti-Joooo amateur hour antics |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-02-19 08:26 |
| #1 Takes some real B+ diplomacy so much for 'smart' diplomacy. |
| Posted by: abu do you love 2011-02-19 03:30 |