Kofi Annan, half-cocked

July 27, 2006
The National Post (Canada)
Original Source: http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/editorialsletters/story.html?id=b3e4784e-7b8d-47c6-87d6-4a5881d94a54

On May 7, 1999, during the Kosovo war, the U.S. military mistakenly bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, killing three Chinese journalists. Like the rest of the world, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan was shocked and distressed by the incident. But neither he nor any other impartial observer alleged the killings were deliberate. In war, horrible accidents happen. Even the most technologically advanced military in the world, using guided munitions, can send a bomb to the wrong address and kill innocent people.
Fast forward seven years to a similar incident. On Tuesday, Israel's military accidentally struck a UN observer post in southern Lebanon, killing four soldiers, one of them Canadian. As with the Belgrade bombing, this tragedy should have been prevented: Israel had been warned of the UN presence in the area; in fact, Israeli officers had been in communication with their UN counterparts earlier in the day. But in the fog of war, a commander made a tragic mistake. The Israeli government properly apologized and promised a thorough investigation.
But here's the difference: In response to this week's events, Mr. Annan jumped to the phobic conclusion that the Israeli attack on the UN was apparently deliberate. Mr. Annan did not explain what Israeli troops -- embroiled in fighting against Hezbollah -- would possibly gain by murdering innocent blue-helmeted bystanders. Nevertheless, his comments instantly were broadcast around the world, generating a propaganda victory for Hezbollah and its supporters.
Mr. Annan's comment is appalling: Unlike Israel's military strike, it was not made amid the confusion and stress of war, but in an air-conditioned office on Manhattan's east side. Moreover, it now seems that the Secretary-General made his remarks in complete ignorance of circumstances on the ground. According to a blog maintained by the deceased Canadian peacekeeper, reported on in today's Post, Hezbollah maintained an active presence in the immediate vicinity of the UN base. Israeli troops tracking incoming Hezbollah fire may well have identified the building itself as the source of mortars or rockets.
Such cowardly tactics would, of course, be entirely in keeping with Hezbollah's practices. In recent days, Jan Egeland -- the UN head of humanitarian affairs and no friend of Israel -- accused Hezbollah of cowardly blending with the civilian population. Next time, Mr. Annan might want to listen to his own subordinate before he puts his thoughts in press-release form.
The UN Secretary-General may believe that his strong language is justified by his mandate to protect those who wear the UN uniform. But in fact, he has undermined the United Nations in a critical way. Israelis already had every reason to believe the UN was biased against the Jewish state, courtesy of decades of one-sided anti-Israel resolutions. Now, just as Mr. Annan is trying to convince the world that UN peacekeepers are up to the job of protecting the Lebanon-Israel border, we get fresh evidence of this familiar animus.
By going off half-cocked, Mr. Annan has added a bitter political residue to this human tragedy. Just as Israel apologized for its deadly error, Mr. Annan owes Israel an apology for his baseless smear.