Foreign Policy Publishes New WikiLeaks Cables on US Heavy-Handed Efforts to help “Israel” at the U.N.
Local Editor
In the aftermath of "Israel's" 2008-2009 intervention into the Gaza Strip, Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, led a vigorous campaign to stymie an independent U.N. investigation into possible war crimes, while using the prospect of such a probe as leverage to pressure "Israel" to participate in a U.S.-backed Middle East peace process, according to previously undisclosed diplomatic cables provided by the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.
The documents provide a rare glimpse behind the scenes at the U.N. as American diplomats sought to shield "Israel's" military from outside scrutiny of its conduct during Operation Cast Lead. Their release comes as the issue is back on the front pages of "Israel's" newspapers, following the surprise recent announcement by Richard Goldstone -- an eminent South African jurist who led an investigation commissioned by the U.N.'s Human Rights Council -- in a Washington Post op-ed that his team had unfairly accused "Israel" of deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians.
Published by Foreign Policy, the new documents, though consistent with public U.S. statements at the time opposing a U.N. investigation into "Israeli" military operations, reveal in extraordinary detail how America wields its power behind closed doors at the United Nations. They also demonstrate how the United States and "Israel" were granted privileged access to highly sensitive internal U.N. deliberations on an "independent" U.N. board of inquiry into the Gaza war, raising questions about the independence of the process.
In one pointed cable, Rice repeatedly prodded U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to block a recommendation of the board of inquiry to carry out a sweeping inquiry into alleged war crimes by "Israeli" soldiers and Palestinian militants. In another cable, Rice issued a veiled warning to the president of the International Criminal Court, Sang-Hyun Song, that an investigation into alleged "Israeli" crimes could damage its standing with the United States at a time when the new administration was moving closer to the tribunal. "How the ICC handles issues concerning the Goldstone Report will be perceived by many in the US as a test for the ICC, as this is a very sensitive matter," she told him, according to a Nov. 3, 2009, cable from the U.S. mission to the United Nations.
Rice, meanwhile, assured "Israeli" Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman during an Oct. 21, 2009, meeting in Tel Aviv that the United States had done its utmost to "blunt the effects of the Goldstone report" and that she was confident she could "build a blocking coalition" to prevent any push for a probe by the Security Council, according to an Oct. 27, 2009 cable.
Also, in a Sept. 16 meeting with Rice, Danny Ayalon, "Israel's" deputy foreign minister, called the Goldstone Report, which had been released the day before, "outrageous," according to a diplomatic cable, adding that it would give Hamas a "free pass" to smuggle weapons into Gaza. Rice agreed, calling the report deeply flawed and biased.
The release of the cables comes as Rice is very publicly sticking with her position taking on the Goldstone Report. "The United States was very, very plain at the time and every day since that the Goldstone report was deeply flawed, and we objected to its findings and conclusions," Rice told the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week. "We didn't see any evidence at the time that the "Israeli" government had intentionally targeted civilians or intentionally committed war crimes."
"Israel" launched a three-week-long offensive into Gaza in late 2008 killing as many as 1,400 Palestinians.
In the aftermath of "Israel's" 2008-2009 intervention into the Gaza Strip, Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, led a vigorous campaign to stymie an independent U.N. investigation into possible war crimes, while using the prospect of such a probe as leverage to pressure "Israel" to participate in a U.S.-backed Middle East peace process, according to previously undisclosed diplomatic cables provided by the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.
The documents provide a rare glimpse behind the scenes at the U.N. as American diplomats sought to shield "Israel's" military from outside scrutiny of its conduct during Operation Cast Lead. Their release comes as the issue is back on the front pages of "Israel's" newspapers, following the surprise recent announcement by Richard Goldstone -- an eminent South African jurist who led an investigation commissioned by the U.N.'s Human Rights Council -- in a Washington Post op-ed that his team had unfairly accused "Israel" of deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians.
Published by Foreign Policy, the new documents, though consistent with public U.S. statements at the time opposing a U.N. investigation into "Israeli" military operations, reveal in extraordinary detail how America wields its power behind closed doors at the United Nations. They also demonstrate how the United States and "Israel" were granted privileged access to highly sensitive internal U.N. deliberations on an "independent" U.N. board of inquiry into the Gaza war, raising questions about the independence of the process.
In one pointed cable, Rice repeatedly prodded U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to block a recommendation of the board of inquiry to carry out a sweeping inquiry into alleged war crimes by "Israeli" soldiers and Palestinian militants. In another cable, Rice issued a veiled warning to the president of the International Criminal Court, Sang-Hyun Song, that an investigation into alleged "Israeli" crimes could damage its standing with the United States at a time when the new administration was moving closer to the tribunal. "How the ICC handles issues concerning the Goldstone Report will be perceived by many in the US as a test for the ICC, as this is a very sensitive matter," she told him, according to a Nov. 3, 2009, cable from the U.S. mission to the United Nations.
Rice, meanwhile, assured "Israeli" Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman during an Oct. 21, 2009, meeting in Tel Aviv that the United States had done its utmost to "blunt the effects of the Goldstone report" and that she was confident she could "build a blocking coalition" to prevent any push for a probe by the Security Council, according to an Oct. 27, 2009 cable.
Also, in a Sept. 16 meeting with Rice, Danny Ayalon, "Israel's" deputy foreign minister, called the Goldstone Report, which had been released the day before, "outrageous," according to a diplomatic cable, adding that it would give Hamas a "free pass" to smuggle weapons into Gaza. Rice agreed, calling the report deeply flawed and biased.
The release of the cables comes as Rice is very publicly sticking with her position taking on the Goldstone Report. "The United States was very, very plain at the time and every day since that the Goldstone report was deeply flawed, and we objected to its findings and conclusions," Rice told the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week. "We didn't see any evidence at the time that the "Israeli" government had intentionally targeted civilians or intentionally committed war crimes."
"Israel" launched a three-week-long offensive into Gaza in late 2008 killing as many as 1,400 Palestinians.
