The Belgravia Dispatch: Dear Tzipi: Muzzle Gillerman, It's Getting So Tiresome

September 20, 2007

Dear Tzipi: Muzzle Gillerman, It's Getting So Tiresome

"It is the obligation of the American legal authorities to prevent his entrance into the United States and if he does enter, to arrest him and try him for incitement to genocide and aiding and abetting terrorists who kill American soldiers in Iraq"

--Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman, as quoted in Haaretz

It is truly embarrasing that a smart woman like Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni doesn't better place Gillerman on a leash (it's kind of reminiscent of the Rice-Bolton dynamic, no?), as this is pretty outrageous fare, even by the standards of gross rhetorical overreach we've all been subjected to these past years from various capitals/chancelleries.

Memo to Dan: New York City is where the United Nations sits. As part of the deal therefore, leaders of sovereign nations that are members of the General Assembly get to visit and such. So, alas, unsavory world leaders will come here rather often for UNGA meetings and the like. Moreover, Ahmadi-Nejad has not commited genocide (indeed 25,000 ethnic Jews live in Iran, the largest population of Jews in the Middle East outside of Israel). If he is the new Hitler, why haven't they been slaughtered? As for incitement to genocide, whatever that means precisely, by such flimsy standards of dubious translations getting turned into hyberbolic journalistic copy then dutifully fanned by the usual suspects, we could likely indict rather a large cast of characters indeed.

P.S. Please spare us advice regarding what the "obligation(s) of the American legal authorities" are, OK? That's the U.S. Government's call, not yours (though God save us if Mitt or Rudy come to power in '09, the U.N. will likely end up having to move to London or something...)

Posted by Gregory at September 20, 2007 01:35 AM

Comments

Please spare us advice regarding what the "obligation(s) of the American legal authorities" are, OK? That's the U.S. Government's call, not yours.

Well, you know, given the U.S.-Israel relationship, you can see how the "ambassador" might figure that giving orders to American officials is well within his jurisdiction.

A side note: Is "Ahmadi-Nejad" the correct form? If so, how come it's never printed this way in the American media? Gotta say, it makes the guy's name much more managable for an English reader. Thanks!

Posted by: sglover at September 20, 2007 11:42 AM | Permalink to this comment

sglover: Always interesting to see those snide comments implying the Jews, ah Zionists are controlling America! Please excuse me I keep forgetting the modern form of re-cycling anti-Jewish slurs into respectable anti-Zionism!

And for the record I would not let that Holcaust denying SOB on American soil even to address UN and would certainly not let him visit Ground Zero. That would be obsence. As for the remaining Iranian Jews, they have been allowed to remain largely to serve as hostages to protect the regime from Western military attacks.

Posted by: David All at September 20, 2007 12:49 PM | Permalink to this comment

Heh. And thank you for playing the "anti-Semite! anti-Semite!" card!

Posted by: sglover at September 20, 2007 01:07 PM | Permalink to this comment

Maybe the UN should move to London, if we're now obligated to arrest leaders we don't like. Maybe we should do that to all visitors, make them sign some sort of loyalty oath before they can set foot on American soil. Make them recite the pledge of allegiance or at least hum "God Bless America." We could have minders escorting everyone who comes into our country, like North Korea does, to make sure they don't go to any places that aren't authorized. Why don't foreigners understand we don't like them, we just like their oil and their cheap labor.

Posted by: LL at September 20, 2007 01:17 PM | Permalink to this comment

How about if he is visiting fellow Iranians who died there that day? If this was mentioned then what could anyone say to counter his request of visiting...

Posted by: Rh at September 20, 2007 09:47 PM | Permalink to this comment

"Holocaust denying SOB on American soil", are you talking about american neo-nazi groups acting and parading openly in the U.S?

Posted by: Michael at September 21, 2007 04:39 AM | Permalink to this comment

I guess I should be accustomed by now to how remarkably un-self-aware American and Israeli political elites have become.

If we're going to arrest the President of Iran, then surely we should be arresting the President of Pakistan as well, who has harbored an individual responsible for the most egregious proliferation of nuclear weapons technology.

And if the proper international standard is to issue arrest warrants for heads of state or government of countries engaged in serious violations of international law, then the Prime Minister of Israel and the President and Vice President of the United States should probably not stray too far from their own shores, as Israel's treatment of the civilian populations of the West Bank and Gaza do not withstand close scrutiny, and our own occupation of Iraq is a sorry record of torture, unjust imprisonment, and excessive use of force causing civilian casualties.

Demonization is a double-edged sword. We should be looking for ways to reach out and stimulate dialogue rather than looking for new fights to pick. Have the events of the last 5 years America and Israel nothing?

Posted by: Henry Tanguy at September 21, 2007 07:35 AM | Permalink to this comment

	« God-Send Gates! \| Main \| Great Moments in Public Diplomacy » September 20, 2007 Dear Tzipi: Muzzle Gillerman, It's Getting So Tiresome "It is the obligation of the American legal authorities to prevent his entrance into the United States and if he does enter, to arrest him and try him for incitement to genocide and aiding and abetting terrorists who kill American soldiers in Iraq" --Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman, as quoted in Haaretz It is truly embarrasing that a smart woman like Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni doesn't better place Gillerman on a leash (it's kind of reminiscent of the Rice-Bolton dynamic, no?), as this is pretty outrageous fare, even by the standards of gross rhetorical overreach we've all been subjected to these past years from various capitals/chancelleries. Memo to Dan: New York City is where the United Nations sits. As part of the deal therefore, leaders of sovereign nations that are members of the General Assembly get to visit and such. So, alas, unsavory world leaders will come here rather often for UNGA meetings and the like. Moreover, Ahmadi-Nejad has not commited genocide (indeed 25,000 ethnic Jews live in Iran, the largest population of Jews in the Middle East outside of Israel). If he is the new Hitler, why haven't they been slaughtered? As for incitement to genocide, whatever that means precisely, by such flimsy standards of dubious translations getting turned into hyberbolic journalistic copy then dutifully fanned by the usual suspects, we could likely indict rather a large cast of characters indeed. P.S. Please spare us advice regarding what the "obligation(s) of the American legal authorities" are, OK? That's the U.S. Government's call, not yours (though God save us if Mitt or Rudy come to power in '09, the U.N. will likely end up having to move to London or something...) Posted by Gregory at September 20, 2007 01:35 AM Comments Please spare us advice regarding what the "obligation(s) of the American legal authorities" are, OK? That's the U.S. Government's call, not yours. Well, you know, given the U.S.-Israel relationship, you can see how the "ambassador" might figure that giving orders to American officials is well within his jurisdiction. A side note: Is "Ahmadi-Nejad" the correct form? If so, how come it's never printed this way in the American media? Gotta say, it makes the guy's name much more managable for an English reader. Thanks! Posted by: sglover at September 20, 2007 11:42 AM \| Permalink to this comment sglover: Always interesting to see those snide comments implying the Jews, ah Zionists are controlling America! Please excuse me I keep forgetting the modern form of re-cycling anti-Jewish slurs into respectable anti-Zionism! And for the record I would not let that Holcaust denying SOB on American soil even to address UN and would certainly not let him visit Ground Zero. That would be obsence. As for the remaining Iranian Jews, they have been allowed to remain largely to serve as hostages to protect the regime from Western military attacks. Posted by: David All at September 20, 2007 12:49 PM \| Permalink to this comment sglover: Always interesting to see those snide comments implying the Jews, ah Zionists are controlling America! Please excuse me I keep forgetting the modern form of re-cycling anti-Jewish slurs into respectable anti-Zionism! Heh. And thank you for playing the "anti-Semite! anti-Semite!" card! Posted by: sglover at September 20, 2007 01:07 PM \| Permalink to this comment Maybe the UN should move to London, if we're now obligated to arrest leaders we don't like. Maybe we should do that to all visitors, make them sign some sort of loyalty oath before they can set foot on American soil. Make them recite the pledge of allegiance or at least hum "God Bless America." We could have minders escorting everyone who comes into our country, like North Korea does, to make sure they don't go to any places that aren't authorized. Why don't foreigners understand we don't like them, we just like their oil and their cheap labor. Posted by: LL at September 20, 2007 01:17 PM \| Permalink to this comment How about if he is visiting fellow Iranians who died there that day? If this was mentioned then what could anyone say to counter his request of visiting... Posted by: Rh at September 20, 2007 09:47 PM \| Permalink to this comment "Holocaust denying SOB on American soil", are you talking about american neo-nazi groups acting and parading openly in the U.S? Posted by: Michael at September 21, 2007 04:39 AM \| Permalink to this comment I guess I should be accustomed by now to how remarkably un-self-aware American and Israeli political elites have become. If we're going to arrest the President of Iran, then surely we should be arresting the President of Pakistan as well, who has harbored an individual responsible for the most egregious proliferation of nuclear weapons technology. And if the proper international standard is to issue arrest warrants for heads of state or government of countries engaged in serious violations of international law, then the Prime Minister of Israel and the President and Vice President of the United States should probably not stray too far from their own shores, as Israel's treatment of the civilian populations of the West Bank and Gaza do not withstand close scrutiny, and our own occupation of Iraq is a sorry record of torture, unjust imprisonment, and excessive use of force causing civilian casualties. Demonization is a double-edged sword. We should be looking for ways to reach out and stimulate dialogue rather than looking for new fights to pick. Have the events of the last 5 years America and Israel nothing? Posted by: Henry Tanguy at September 21, 2007 07:35 AM \| Permalink to this comment		Reviews of Belgravia Dispatch "Awake" --New York Times "Always-Worth Reading" --Andrew Sullivan "Honorary Chair--American Appeasement Blogs" --Hugh Hewitt Recent Entries McCain: Let's Compound the Blunder! Georgia On My Mind Should We De-Emphasize The Terror Threat in U.S. Foreign Policy? (Very Belated) In-House News Straits of Hormuz Quotable More Predictions Predictions, Predictions! A 'Sick Man of Europe' Reprise? Addingtonism (Belatedly) Ripe For A Comeuppance? 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