(Weekly Standard) Elliott Abrams - The Russell Tribunal is the heir to the "International War Crimes Tribunal" to which Bertrand Russell lent his name in 1966. The stated purpose then was "to investigate crimes committed in Vietnam" and the panel was financed in large part by the government of North Vietnam. The Russell Tribunal found the U.S. guilty of genocide while ignoring issues like North Vietnamese torture of prisoners. Similarly today, terrorism against Israel is of course not to be discussed. The Tribunal is part of the serious international effort to destroy the State of Israel by breaking its economic and political ties to other nations. It is a reminder that ideas - especially evil ideas - have consequences. The writer is a senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
2011-11-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive