Posted on 04/20/2006 9:28:00 AM PDT by anotherview
Apr. 19, 2006 22:32 | Updated Apr. 20, 2006 6:14
Disarmament board chooses Iranian
By NATHAN GUTTMAN
WASHINGTON
As the international community looks into ways of stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons, an Iranian representative was elected to be the vice chair of the UN's disarmament commission.
The commission, which began its annual conference last week, was established by the UN General Assembly in the early 50's in order to promote disarmament and to review international treaties dealing with nuclear energy.
The commission does not have any authority to enforce its decisions and is not connected to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is the international nuclear watchdog that is now investigating Iran's nuclear program and is expected to report to the UN Security Council by the end of the month.
The new Iranian vice chair, Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi, who is also the country's ambassador to the UN, said last week that Iran will cooperate with the IAEA and will "seek an acceptable venue for holding transparent talks with interested parties." The ambassador, who is one of three vice-chairpersons, said during the meeting of the commission that Israel's nuclear stockpile is among "the major sources of concern with regard to global peace and security."
The election of Iran to the senior post in the disarmament commission drew sharp criticism from US lawmakers and from Jewish organizations that are fighting against a nuclear Iran.
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), who heads the House subcommittee on the Middle East issued a statement in which she compared the decision to "appointing a serial killer to serve as a juror in a murder trial."
Ros-Lehtinen added that choosing Iran to be the vice chair of the commission proves that the UN and the international community are "ineffective in preventing Iran from achieving nuclear capabilities."
The American Jewish Congress' chairman Jack Rosen said that the vote in the disarmament committee amounts to "a rude slap in the face of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the UN Security Council."
The United Nations has finally responded to the Iranian nuclear threat. Believe it or not elected Iran has been elected to be Vice Chair of the U.N. Disarmament Commission. Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi used his ascension to claim that Israel's nuclear stockpile is among "the major sources of concern with regard to global peace and security." Arutz Sheva quotes Danesh-Yazdi's statement:
"The continued existence of thousands of nuclear warheads in the stockpiles of the nuclear-weapon States, which could destroy the entire globe many times over, and the increasing resort to the threat of their possible use, are the major sources of concern with regard to global peace and security," Danesh-Yazdi said, adding that Israel was required to place all of its "clandestine nuclear facilities" under UN nuclear watchdog supervision.
Arutz Sheva's piece points out that the election of Iran to the Vice Chair of the U.N. Disarmament Commission was immediately followed by yet more threats to destroy Israel by Iran's President Ahmadenijad.
Needless to say U.S. and Israeli reaction was less than warm. The Jerusalem Post goes on to report:
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), who heads the House subcommittee on the Middle East issued a statement in which she compared the decision to "appointing a serial killer to serve as a juror in a murder trial."
This follows a United Nations Security Council debate on Monday, the very day a suicide bomber killed nine innocent people in Tel Aviv and wounded close to 70 others at a falafel stand, to consider condemning Israel for its anti-terrorism activities in Gaza and the West Bank. Voice of America reports:
The U.N. Security Council opened a debate on Israeli military operations in the occupied territories, hours after Monday's suicide attack in Tel Aviv.
Arab countries asked for the open Council debate after the United States blocked adoption of a statement last week that would have called on Israel to refrain from excessive use of force that endangers Palestinian civilians.
More than a dozen countries had lined up to criticize Israeli military actions, including Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Algeria, Indonesia, Egypt, Cuba and Venezuela.
Those nations lining up to criticize Israel are among the worst offenders of human rights in the world. (Thanks to Ariel for the links.)
The United Nations continues to be the mouthpiece for despots and dictators to relentlessly spew against the United States and Israel yet both nations continue to participate in and promote the failed world body. I fail to understand why both nations remain members or why the United States continues to act as host for the U.N. The U.N. needs to join the League of Nations in being relegated to the dustbin of history. It needs to be replaced with a League of Free Nations, open only to those who support human rights and democracy.
Kudos to Rep. Ros-Lehtinen for calling it like it is. SHame on the mainstream media in the U.S. for not covering this at all.
Dear Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi:
Israel has not threatened to wipe out another country or sworn to exterminate another country.
Insincerely,
Me
just more proof the UN is a freaking joke.
Is the UN also stuck on stupid?
This is like letting my ex put forth the parameters of my divorce, etc.
Or like putting OJ in charge of battered women's problems and solutions.
Iran Threatens to Destroy Israel, Elected to UN Commission
22:51 Apr 15, '06 / 17 Nisan 5766
Iran's leaders have reiterated their call for Israel's annihilation, announcing the advancement of the Iranian nuclear program, and winning a seat on the United Nations' Disarmament Commission.
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated Iran's goal of "wiping Israel off the map." Speaking at a conference of visiting heads of Arab terrorist groups operating in areas under Palestinian Authority control, Ahmadinejad said, "Whether you like it or not, the Zionist regime is on the road to being eliminated."
Once again expressing his doubt as to whether the Holocaust happened, Ahmadinejad said that, although the Holocaust’s occurrence is "open to doubt, there is no doubt about the holocaust being carried out [by Israel] against the Palestinians." He went on to call upon Israelis to return to the countries from which their ancestors emigrated. "I tell the governments who support Zionism to allow the migrants [to] return to their countries of origin. If you think you owe them something [because of the Holocaust], give them some of your land," he said. "The Zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm."
Ahmadinejad announced last Tuesday that Iran had successfully enriched uranium in order to produce nuclear fuel, in violation of a call by the UN Security Council for Iran to end the project.
The day before, the UN's Disarmament Commission elected Iran's Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi as one of its three vice-chairs. "The continued existence of thousands of nuclear warheads in the stockpiles of the nuclear-weapon States, which could destroy the entire globe many times over, and the increasing resort to the threat of their possible use, are the major sources of concern with regard to global peace and security," Danesh-Yazdi said, adding that Israel was required to place all of its "clandestine nuclear facilities" under UN nuclear watchdog supervision.
Jordan's representative added that Israel's refusal to renounce nuclear weapons is a major source of tensions in the Middle East.
A British newspaper reported over the weekend that British military officers took part in a joint operation with the US military simulating an invasion of Iran in July 2004. The Guardian report said the exercise was carried out on a base in Virginia and was codenamed "Hotspur 2004." The country being invaded was codenamed Korona, but located exactly within Iran's borders and sharing the characteristics of Iran. The attack was scheduled for 2015.
The British Defense Ministry downplayed the report, saying the exercise was purely fictitious in nature, "using invented countries and situations" to "test officers to the limit" but "using real maps."
British Foreign Minister Jack Straw said military action against Iran was "inconceivable."
"You can start a war but it won't be you who finishes it," the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard General Yahya Rahim Safav said, addressing the report at the same pro-Hamas conference at which Ahmadinejad spoke (called the Jerusalem Conference in Tehran). "The Americans know better than anyone that their troops in the region and in Iraq are vulnerable. I would advise them not to commit such a strategic error."
Also attending the conference were heads of the PFLP and DFLP terrorist organizations, as well as several members of the ruling Hamas group, which now controls the Palestinian Authority. Hamas figure Khaled Mashaal promised to those present, "The Palestinians will never recognize Israel." He also congratulated the Iranian people on their nuclear achievements and goals. “Acquiring nuclear technology is every nation’s right, especially the deprived and exploited."
Islamic Jihad chief Ramadan Abdallah Salah also praised Iran's nuclear ambitions. “Every Muslim, Arab and Palestinian will be happy to see a Muslim state realizing its scientific potential. No power in the world has the right to prevent a Muslim nation from building itself or to stop its development."
Is the UN also stuck on stupid?
This is like letting my ex put forth the parameters of my divorce, etc.
Or like putting OJ in charge of battered women's problems and solutions.
The comment at the top includes some mangled HTML. That's my sister's blog entry.
ping
In a word, yes.
I was hoping this was from Scrappleface or the Onion.
Only the UN can be this monumentally stupid.
Isn't this kind of like putting Adolf Hitler in charge of the UN Genocide convention?
...And the joke is on law abiding, church going Americans who finance this contemptuous organization of Communists, Muslims and other atheists.
The best leaders inspire by example. When that's not an option, brute intimidation works pretty well, too.
agreed, that is why my senators will be receiving a letter from me tonight.
If you're not a part of the solution,there's good money to be made in prolonging the problem.
"The United Nations continues to be the mouthpiece for despots and dictators to relentlessly spew against the United States and Israel yet both nations continue to participate in and promote the failed world body".
THIS ABOUT TELLS ALL.
In the meantime, we're throwing billions of dollars in support at them. Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture, or is it just me?
If Hitler were alive I'm sure the U.N. would seriously consider it.
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