
Thinking about the Middle East and what kind of reaction might be appropriate and effective to prevent civilian casualties and yet keep Israel safe led me to propose a couple. At least initially it seemed appropriate to deny UN status to any country which refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist. It seems just since these countries are inherently doing the same to Israel since a country which is “non-existent” cannot participate (which is also why Hezbollah has no chance to achieve UN representation). However, this might create a problem since non-membership in the UN also allows non-conformity with its sanctions. If a country does not agree to the rules or at least have an equal part in creating them then it may validly complain that they do not apply. (Of course in cases like Lebanon, this seems to be pretty much the case regardless; but it legitimizes their non-cooperation). Also, UN forces would be perceived less as an international presence and more as foreigners imposing on Muslim sovereignty. So, I thought maybe a better idea would be to reject their right to vote. This paralyzes only a small part of their international power, but keeping them inside the UN is necessary to prevent justifying their non-conformity with international consensus.
The UN also needs to increase its reprimand of countries, governments and organizations which fund or supply terrorist groups. Iran and Syria shouldn’t be allowed to escape responsibility for Hezbollah while Lebanon’s infrastructure gets pounded just because Hezbollah doesn’t live there. So how do you decide when a country is responsible for terror activity? (I.e. what about Lebanon where there seems to be two political and military presences?) I suppose it depends exclusively on the government’s level of cooperation. Each country has to be given a mandate such that they are responsible for hostilities originating within their borders (so they cannot plead ignorance) and their cooperation with these groups (so they cannot escape the consequences). But for this to be a fair system then just as Palestine should be responsible for its suicide bombers, Canada should be held responsible for terrorists who use the country as a launch pad. This seems like the only way to make it fair an equal.

No comments:
Post a Comment