What do the following countries have in common: the United States, Israel, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Palau and Australia? Answer: they are the only countries on the face of the planet to oppose a United Nations resolution backing the ICJ ruling against Israel's security wall. Europe and Asia were unanimously united against Israel's right of self-defence while only a few scattered countries in Latin America, Africa and Oceania abstained. Final score 150-6.
What of Canada, you ask. Well, we abstained too, placing ourselves firmly in the vowel-rich camp of Uruguay, Cameroon, Tonga, Vanuatu, El Salvador, Uganda, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Can someone tell me what it means for us to register "no opinion" on this extremely important matter? Either we suport the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice or we do not. Either we think that their ruling that Israel cannot defend itself against Palestinian terror (an inescapable conclusion if one reads the court's decision) is horse-puckey or we do not. Is this what "soft power" has come to mean: not taking sides?
Posted by Dexter at July 20, 2004 10:36 PM