Terrorism remains undefined

… at least as far as the UN is concerned:

NEW YORK — To the Iraqi civilians who have dragged family members out of rubble, or grieving parents in Beslan forced to bury their children, the difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter might seem inconsequential.

But to the 191 members of the U.N. General Assembly, that distinction was enough to scuttle the latest efforts to define terrorism and, ultimately, craft a comprehensive convention against it.

Why, you may wonder? Because the Organization of the Islamic Conference wanted a few, uh, exemptions made:

Arab and Islamic nations have demanded an exemption for freedom fighters, while European and most Asian and Latin nations say that targeting civilians is always wrong.

[…]

Every nation agrees that terrorism is wrong, but many Arab and Islamic governments insist that an exception must be made for those fighting colonial domination or foreign occupation.

Among the groups that might fit that description: Islamic Jihad and Hamas in the West Bank, the insurgents of Iraq, and secessionist movements in Chechnya, Kashmir, the Philippines, Indonesia and Northern Ireland, among many others.

It is the same rift that derailed the terrorism discussions before the World Summit in September, when more than 150 presidents and prime ministers gathered here to lend their political support to a document that ultimately didn’t say anything new in the war on terror.

Same ol’ song and dance at the get-nothing-done UN and with so-called ‘moderate’ Muslim groups. While the US, UK, and other members of the Coalition of the Willing do the tough work, the preeners and self-important folks at the UN continue to dither.

Hat tip: LGF

Update: Sen. John Kerry has given us HIS definition of who the terrorists are: us. From pages 3-4 of this transcript from CBS “Face The Nation” yesterday – emphasis added:

SCHIEFFER: All right. Let me shift to another point of view, and it comes from another Democrat, Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. He takes a very different view. He says basically we should stay the course because, he says, real progress is being made. He said this is a war between 27 million Iraqis who want freedom and 10,000 terrorists. He says we’re in a watershed transformation. What about that?

Sen. KERRY: Let me–I–first of all, there is so much more that unites Democrats than divides us. And Democrats have much more in common with each other than they do with George Bush’s policy right now. Now Joe Lieberman, I believe, also voted for the resolution which said the president needs to make more clear what he’s doing and set out benchmarks, and that the policy hasn’t been working. We all believe him when you say, `Stay the course.’ That’s the president’s policy, which hasn’t been changing, which is a policy of failure. I don’t agree with that. But I think what we need to do is recognize what we all agree on, which is you’ve got to begin to set benchmarks for accomplishment. You’ve got to begin to transfer authority to the Iraqis. And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the–of–the historical customs, religious customs. Whether you like it or not…

Un-freakin-believable. Thank God this country had the good sense to not elect him president. He hasn’t changed a bit. He was undermining this war during the ’04 campaign season, and he’s still doing it.

Hat tip: Captain Ed

(Cross-posted at Blogs For Bush)

Comments are closed.