In Sharp Reversal, U.S. Agrees To Rebuke Israel In Security Council

by Colum Lynch - February 16th, 2011 - Foreign Policy Magazine

The U.S. informed Arab governments Tuesday that it will support a U.N. Security Council statement reaffirming that the 15-nation body "does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity," a move aimed at avoiding the prospect of having to veto a stronger Palestinian resolution calling the settlements illegal.

But the Palestinians rejected the American offer following a meeting late Wednesday of Arab representatives and said it is planning to press for a vote on its resolution on Friday, according to officials familiar with the issue. The decision to reject the American offer raised the prospect that the Obama administration will cast its first ever veto in the U.N. Security Council.

Tick tock. Tick tock. The nuclear clock goes tick tock.

Another botched foreign policy initiative shows just how weak America is perceived in the Middle East. It is not that Obama is "maybe" going to cast his first veto. It is the pitiful display of indecision and waffling that goes along with the veto "threat" that embarrasses our nation and its efforts to have any say in issues of consequence in that region. No one really knows what Obama will do. Neither our friends nor our enemies. No one can trust that he even stands for our nation's best interests. In a region where forces inimical to our interests daily threaten to use nuclear bombs against our only ally, and then against us, such indecision is intolerable.

Tick tock. Tick tock. The nuclear clock goes tick tock.