(Tech Central Station) Patrick Cox - An American veto of a UN Security Council vote imposing South Africa-type sanctions against Israel if the security barrier is not removed is a given - but not for the reasons that most assume. U.S. Ambassador John Danforth has condemned the International Court of Justice ruling on several occasions, specifically referring to Article 51 of the UN Charter, recognizing nation-states' right to self-defense. Ambassador Danforth said, "The court opinion...seems to say that the right of a state to defend itself exists only when it is attacked by another state, and that the right of self-defense does not exist against non-state actors. It does not exist when terrorists hijack planes and fly them into buildings, or bomb train stations, or bomb bus stops, or put poison gas into subways. I would suggest that if this were the meaning of Article 51, then the United Nations Charter could be irrelevant in a time when the major threats to peace are not from states but from terrorists." In other words, the interpretation of Article 51 enshrined in this court ruling, and endorsed by the General Assembly, delegitimizes military action by states against non-state terrorist organizations - unless permission is given by the government that harbors those terrorists.
2004-08-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive