The U.N.’s top human rights official took time this past week to concern herself about the treatment Bin Laden received as he was killed. She demanded to know “the precise facts surrounding his killing” for the purpose of determining its legality. According to Pillay, “counter-terrorism activity…in compliance with international law” means “you’re not allowed…to commit extra-judicial killings.” And this requirement would only be satisfied if the Americans had stuck by what she claimed was their “stated…intention…to arrest bin Laden if they could.”
On Friday, two professors and part-time U.N. “experts,” Christof Heyns and Martin Scheinin, issued a joint statement on Bin Laden’s killing. The two academics claimed that “the norm should be that terrorists be dealt with as criminals, through legal processes of arrest, trial and judicially-decided punishment.” They also insisted that the U.N. was entitled to receive “more facts” “to allow an assessment in terms of international human rights law standards.” Those standards would be violated, they claimed, unless “the planning of the mission allowed an effort to capture Bin Laden.”
The suggestion from these two U.N. authority-figures that America is criminally at fault for killing Bin Laden if their terms have not been satisfied is both offensive and legally false.
Bayefsky also notes that,"... U.N. reaction to Bin Laden’s death indicates that the Obama administration’s warm embrace of the organization is endangering American lives."
I think though that she is overlooking an important Obama characterological pattern, which is to sell out his own supporters in the service of self-aggrandizement. The UN and it's rising power have always been an important attraction to the man. In fact, I have always believed that Obama is on the prowl for something bigger than just being President of the US--a country that he has mixed feelings about to begin with. His ego will demand that he move beyond America, particularly after he finishes his various denunciations and denigrations of this country.
I think he has always had his sights set on becoming Secretary General of the UN, and that is why he belittles America and bows to the UN whenever possible. This is the major reason why I expect that Obama will backtrack and hem and haw and eventually (after his poll bounce, of course; and, if he can keep the bounce going, after his successful re-election in 2012) find some way to "disown" the takedown of OBL.
Think he can't do it? Watch and see. I could be wrong, but when it becomes a liability for him (and it will, eventually), all bets are off except being able to count on Obama's overweening narcissism.
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