Behind the Moves at the UN

BRENDAN SMITH
JEREMY BRECHER
Legal scholar Brendan Smith and historian Jeremy Brecher are co-authors of the recent article “A Road to Peace in Lebanon?” and co-editors of the book In The Name Of Democracy.

Brecher said today: “If the U.S.-French Security Council proposal crashes, that will create enormous pressure for a plan — pushed by the Islamic countries led by Malaysia — to use the ‘Uniting for Peace’ process to circumvent the U.S. veto [power] by going to the General Assembly for an authentic ceasefire.”

See “[Organization of Islamic Countries] wants UN General Assembly ‘Uniting For Peace,’ Malaysia premier [says].”

JAMES PAUL
Paul is executive director of the Global Policy Forum, which monitors the United Nations.
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PHYLLIS BENNIS
Available for a limited number of interviews, Bennis is a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies specializing in the Mideast and in the United Nations. She said today: “The draft resolution on the Lebanon crisis to be discussed by the UN Security Council this week is very much Washington’s resolution. The draft does not call for a ceasefire; it is qualitatively discriminatory between the two sides; it has already been rejected by the government of Lebanon as well as by Hezbollah; and even if implemented it will not bring peace.”

Bennis added: “Passage of the resolution will not lead to a ceasefire, or even a significant reduction in violence; Condoleezza Rice said she did not expect the resolution to bring about an immediate end to the violence and noted that ‘these things take a while to wind down.’ Israel’s justice minister Haim Ramon told the New York Times that Israel would continue its attacks and that its forces would remain in Lebanon ‘until the international force arrived.’ Since the current draft does not even call for creation of such a force, mentioning it only as a future goal to be addressed in a subsequent resolution, Israel’s announcement is a clear warning of continuing war.” Bennis’ most recent book is Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy U.S. Power.
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167