A former special adviser to Kofi Annan lambasts Israel and America, says US should not have supplied Israel with arms and should talk with Hezbollah in a New York Times op—ed.

He effectively justifies Hezbollah's actions. Not a mention of their attacks around the world (including the killing of hundreds of American and French peacekeeping troops in Lebanon, destruction of Jewish targets in Argentina). Nor does he mention that the very presence of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon is a violation of United Nations Resolutions.

When Brahimi speaks of more military hardware being rushed to Israel, he is just picking this up from a front—page New York Times disclosure meant to harm America and Israel. Brahimi also lays the blame for Hezbollah's actions on Israeli occupation, without mentioning that Israel completely withdrew from Lebanon under United Nations auspices years ago.

He also ignored the UN Resolution that ruled Shebaa Farms to be Syrian territory; instead he would compel Israel to turn the area over to Lebanon, thereby handing Hezbollah a victory which would embolden and glorify the terror group.

Brahimi really is not a very diplomatic person. He is Algerian, and when appointed by Annan to be the UN reprehensive in Iraq, he grandly addressed a coalition of leaders as his "brother Arabs" — which did not sit well with the Kurdish leaders.

Notoriously, he has also announced that he is glad to have never "shaken the hand of a Jew".  In the past, Brahimi has compared Ariel Sharon to an assassin, urged Europeans to increase pressure on Israel, and said the world is too accepting of cynical and ridiculous Israeli positions on peace. He also blamed international terrorism on the Arab—Israeli conflict.
 
One might question the choice of the New York Times in running an op—ed by, in the words of one UN Ambassador, a "bigot."

Ed Lasky   8 18 06