On
Syria
in Senate,
Kerry
Dismissive of
UN & Its
Mandate, After
Setting It
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 3 --
On Syria in
the Senate
Foreign
Relations
Committee on
Tuesday, US
Secretary of
State John
Kerry was
asked why
not wait for
the UN
information on
chemical
weapons?
Kerry
first replied,
"what
information?"
Then he
explained that
the UN
won't report,
he
understands,
for "three
weeks,"
and
complained
that the UN
has no mandate
to determine
WHO used
chemical
weapons, only
that there
were used.
Earlier
today
Inner City
Press published
a copy of
Syria's August
31 letter
to the UN, and
will now quote
from it:
"Mr.
Kerry
has stated
that the
investigative
team is not
responsible
for
identifying
the party that
used chemical
weapons and
that its task
is
solely to
determine
whether such
weapons were
used. The
purpose of
that statement
is to justify
the American
administration’s
circumvention
of the
Security
Council. It
should be
recalled that,
in
its letter to
the
Secretary-General
of 20 March
2013, the
Syrian
Government
officially
requested that
the
investigation
should
determine who
it was that
used chemical
weapons in
Khan Asal.
That
request,
however, was
rejected by at
the time by
the
delegations of
the United
States of
America,
Britain and
France."
Kerry
wasn't asked
about that in
the Senate.
What is the
UN's response?
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon on
Tuesday took
only two
pre-selected
questions, one
given in
advance to the
UN's Alliance
which
sponsored
a faux "UN
briefing" with
Saudi
sponsored
rebel boss
Jarba.
Kerry
answered a
question by
saying, "I
hope President
Jarba"
answers that.
He cut off
Connecticut
Democrat Chris
Murphy. When
Kentucky
Republican
Rand Paul
asked him to
commit that
Obama wouldn't
go ahead and
use force if
not approved
by the
Congress,
Kerry would
not. Paul
said, so this
debate is
meaningless.
But
it's the UN
that most
feels that
fear, of
irrelevance.
Ban spoke
with Kerry,
but there is
no read-out.
The UN won't
provide a list
of
who Ban
Ki-moon has
called, which
the US State
Department
does for
Kerry.
Inner City
Press asked
who Ban golfs
with, beyond
the
Permanent
Representatives
of South Korea
and San
Marino; the
answer
so far is only
the UK.
The Free
UN Coalition
for Access
@FUNCA_info
will pursue
this need for
transparency.
The
hearing ended
with New
Jersey
Democrat
Robert
Menendez
saying that in
the tough
neighborhood
he grew up in
in Bayonne, he
was attacked
by a
bully until he
picked up a
stick from a
construction
site and hit
him. Is that
really the
analogy here?
Watch this
site.
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