[CNN] U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton on Sunday defended Israel's use of force in response to Hizballah's July 12 attack. "I think it's important that we not fall into the trap of moral equivalency here. What Hizballah has done is kidnap Israeli soldiers and rain rockets and mortar shells on innocent Israeli civilians. What Israel has done in response is act in self-defense. And I don't quite know what the argument about proportionate force means here. Is Israel entitled only to kidnap two Hizballah operatives and fire a couple of rockets aimlessly into Lebanon? The situation is that Israel has lived under the terrorist threat of Hizballah for years, and these most recent attacks have given it the legitimate right, the same right America would have if we were attacked, to deal with the problem." Bolton bristled at last week's suggestion from Louise Arbour, the UN high commissioner for human rights, that Israeli leaders could be charged with war crimes. "You know, in America, prosecutors are not supposed to threaten people in public based on press reports....[Arbour] should consider her professional ethics and responsibilities very carefully here before threatening criminal charges based on press accounts."
2006-07-24 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive