The US should stop trying to condition its defense of Israel from Goldstone
Either the Obama administration cannot understand who is the next, real target of Goldstone and his friends, or they just don't care that the next Goldstone Commission will try to put Americans in the dock. Benny Avni (Israel Radio's New York correspondent who writes in the New York Post) explains. America has heroically stood by Israel at the United Nations so far, letting everyone know that it would veto any Security Council attempt to send Goldstone's allegations to the ICC. But the Obama administration has also reportedly used the case as a club to beat Israel into yielding on such issues as settlements and reopening the Gaza border -- telling Jerusalem officials, Our fight against Goldstone would be much easier if . . .
Such an approach is clearly wrongheaded. Israel has always been the enemy's first target in the War on Terror.
From plane hijackings to suicide bombings, every terrorist tactic was created and perfected by anti-Israel terrorists before migrating to American and European shores. (The latest innovation: Gaza fishermen this week floated explosive-filled barrels to shore, forcing Israeli surfers and swimmers to abandon beautiful winter beaches.) Similarly, the Palestinian terrorists' use of Palestinian civilians' suffering to enrage world opinion was quickly copied in other theaters of war.
If Goldstone's tactics succeed, future imitators will surely build cases for "war crimes" in Iraq, Afghanistan or Yemen. Indeed, the ICC's top prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has already expressed interest in trying allegations against NATO troops, including Americans, operating against al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
The United States should protect Israel in this case as if it were protecting itself -- because it is.
Israel Matzav: The US should stop trying to condition its defense of Israel from Goldstone
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