Israel Feature: How the US Tried to Block a UN Investigation into "War Crimes" (Lynch)

Susan Rice and Avigdor LiebermanColum Lynch writes for Foreign Policy magazine:

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 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.

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Obama in Libya: The Issue is Not Why, But How (Bacevich)

Whatever his motives, by conforming to a pre-existing American penchant for using force in the Greater Middle East, this president has chosen the wrong tool.  In doing so, he condemns himself and the country to persisting in the folly of his predecessors.  The failure is one of imagination, but also of courage.  He promised, and we deserve something better.

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Libya, Yemen, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: No Cease-Fires

2200 GMT: We're going to take an overnight break. Coverage switches to our Live Feed from Al Jazeera English.

2145 GMT: Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi is now speaking by phone. He says that the coalition attack will launch a second Crusade, which will be countered by the Libyan people. He then asks Africans and South Americans to stand by the regime.

Gaddafi declares that the regime must now open the weapons depots and arm all Libyans. He then ends --- a very un-Qaddafi speech of less than three minutes.

2115 GMT: Activists claim that lawyer Ragia Omran was kidnapped today from a polling station in Egypt during the referendum on the Constiutional amendments.

2110 GMT: French broadcasters, refuting the claims of Libyan State TV (see 2050 GMT), reports that all French aircraft have returned safely from missions over Libya.

2105 GMT: Four Al Jazeera journalists have been detained in western Libya.

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Libya, Bahrain (and Beyond): Foreign Interventions

2200 GMT: We will be back in the morning with analysis of developments, including the United Nations Security Council's vote on Libya. Overnight coverage continues on our Live Feed of Al Jazeera English.

2125 GMT: More than 10,000 protesters have rallied in Armenia's capital Yereva. The demonstrators demanded that President Serzh Sargsyan implement reforms, carry out elections, and release detainees.

2120 GMT: Claimed footage of a regime jet shot down by the opposition in Bohadi in east Libya:

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Israel-Palestine Analysis: Washington Blocks the UN and the Palestinians

On Friday, the UN General Assembly voted to hold a summit for the 10th anniversary of the World Conference Against Racism, also known as the Durban Conference.

In 2001, the declaration from Durban singled out Israel for criticism, likening Zionism to racism and referring to "the plight of the Palestinians." In April 2009, there was a follow-up conference, but the US, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, and Australia did not participate. The conference report had no language accusing Israel of racism and no reference to the recent Gaza War. 

Washington continues its opposition to any gathering. US Ambassador Susan Rice said Washington voted against Friday's resolution "because the Durban declaration process has included ugly displays of intolerance and anti-Semitism, and we do not want to see that commemorated".

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