United Nations fail to protect civilians By Richard Saccone March 13, 2008 South Florida Sun-Sentinel Original Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-forum13terrorsbmar13,0,2259695.story Recently, the United National Security Council failed to agree on a press statement strongly condemning the Valentine's Day 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The two-time prime minister died in a massive explosion aimed at his motorcade, which killed some 14 people and injured 135 innocents. No one knows for sure who is responsible but at least some evidence pointed to the complicity of the Syrian government. Hariri had been influential in demanding the removal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. Instead, on the anniversary of this senseless killing of a respected citizen and acclaimed public servant, the Security Council President Ricardo Arias, from Panama, speaking for the Council, reportedly offered its, Great concern of any targeted assassinations that have been committed in Lebanon or in any other place. This was a clear swipe at Israel, which has been known to target terrorists for assassination. The statement was meant to soften public wrath toward those who commit terror while undermining those who attempt to defend themselves against it. After all, according to this reasoning, all killing is terror correct? The logic of such comparison is both faulty and dangerous but typical for the http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/crime-law-justice/international-law/united-nations-ORCUL000009.topic \o United Nations United Nations, which hesitates to offend terrorists or their state sponsors. It appears Imad Mugniyah was assassinated on Feb. 13 by a car bomb in Damascus. Mugniyah may have been the world's most notorious killer, compiling a long list of atrocities dating back to the 1983 U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut, killing 63, the twin bombings of the United States and French barracks in Lebanon also in 1983, which killed over 300, the hijacking of a TWA airliner in 1985, resulting in the death of a U.S. Navy diver and the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Argentina, murdering 85 more people. Mugniyah was a charter member and long time security chief of the international terrorist organization Hezbollah. It is difficult to know exactly how many people he directly or indirectly murdered over the years. Some terrorism experts, and, of course, Hezbollah officials, blame Israel for the death of Mugniyah. On Feb. 18, Hezbollah announced that it plans to retaliate for the killing of Mugniyah by assassinating Israeli officials in the near future. Hezbollah treated Mugniyah as a martyr, reportedly broadcasting on television that, With pride and honor we announce that a great jihadi leader has joined the procession of martyrs in the Islamic resistance. The martyr was killed at the hands of the Israeli Zionists. The false moral equivalence between killing a known international fugitive responsible for the brutal deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians cannot and should not be equated with the terrorism of killing guiltless elected officials. Applying this twisted logic only serves the criminals and outlaws of society, allowing pariah organizations such as Hezbollah to justify terrorism in the eyes of an uninformed and vulnerable citizenry. The United Nation's lack of courage to stand up for what is right and deliver the strongest condemnation of terrorism for the targeted killing of blameless civilians, such as Rafik Hariri, demonstrates the failure of the United Nations as an international body. But what should we expect from an agency that after decades of terrorist acts has yet to officially define it? Dr. Richard Saccone teaches international relations, global terrorism and political science at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa.