The United Nations International Terrorism Organization

Townhall ^ | June 2, 2004 | Ben Shapiro

[FairOpinion]

The United Nations is an enabling institution. It enables John Kerry to babble mindlessly about the situation in Iraq. It enables President Bush to assure Americans that our troops will not remain in Iraq forever. The United Nations also enables terrorists in the Middle East to kill with impunity.

The latest in a long line of U.N.-supported atrocities occurred last month in Israel, where Palestinian Arab terrorists used a U.N. ambulance to do battle with the Israeli military. In Reuters' video footage of the incident, the terrorists can be seen hopping into a U.N. ambulance and driving away in reverse.

According to the Israeli Defense Ministry, the terrorists also used U.N. ambulances to steal body parts of Israeli soldiers killed in a Gaza Strip military operation. It's a common tactic for the Palestinian Arab terrorists; they often hide in ambulances in order to sneak into Israel. Then, when Israel stops ambulances to verify that there are no terrorists aboard, Israel is condemned internationally for hindering medical vehicles.

This incident recalls the brutal kidnapping and murder of three Israeli soldiers on Oct. 7, 2000. The soldiers were patrolling the U.N.-overseen Lebanese border when they were signaled by several U.N. peacekeepers to pull up to the fence. The three soldiers were not suspicious of the peacekeepers -- after all, this area of the border was monitored by U.N. agents, and other U.N. peacekeepers were nearby.

Despite coming under fire, the Israelis continued slowing and approaching the border. Suddenly, a large explosion blew open the border gate, and Hezbollah terrorists, disguised as U.N. peacekeepers in U.N. gear with U.N. vehicles, stormed across the border, spraying bullets, firing shoulder-fired missiles and launching tear-gas grenades. After a few minutes, the three Israelis went down, seriously wounded. Quickly, the terrorists bound and gagged the Israelis, smuggled them across the border, dumped them into two U.N. vehicles and sped away. Five hours later, the U.N. vehicles used in the attacks were recovered, approximately 10 to 12 kilometers from the scene of the kidnapping. The vehicles contained U.N. markings, explosives, Kalashnikov assault rifles, other equipment, and the blood of the wounded Israeli soldiers.

Rumors leaked of a videotape taken by three U.N. personnel the day after the abduction. The videotape was thought to contain footage of the Hezbollah terrorists in U.N. garb with U.N. equipment, stopping U.N. personnel from removing the U.N. vehicles used in the attack. After months of Israeli requests to see the unedited tape, the United Nations finally admitted that a tape did exist but refused to allow Israel to see it unedited. Instead, they blurred out the faces of the Hezbollah terrorists.

The strange behavior of the Israeli soldiers -- continuing to approach the fence even after being fired upon -- led senior Israeli security officials to develop a theory: Hezbollah must have bribed the Indian U.N. peacekeepers, and those peacekeepers took an active role in the abduction of the Israeli soldiers, luring them close to the border. Hezbollah bribery would also explain the use of U.N. materials in the raid. With the theory in hand, Israel asked the United Nations to conduct in internal investigation of the Indian peacekeepers.

U.N. officials immediately dismissed the theory. "This is the most illogical theory, based on pure speculation and obvious lack of information as to what happened," ranted Timur Goksel, spokesman for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. "Such a theory is nothing but a pathetic lie, and I regret very much that it has been aired." An internal U.N. investigation of the peacekeepers revealed nothing.

The U.S. House Middle East Subcommittee held a hearing on the deaths of the three Israeli soldiers. The chair of the subcommittee, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida), ripped the United Nations for aiding the Hezbollah terrorists. "The ensuing years have been filled with delays and confusion, all stemming from the United Nations," she said. "Time and time again, the Israeli government requested information available to the United Nations."

The United Nations responded by refusing to send a representative to testify before the subcommittee. "We are unable to send a representative," wrote Catherine O'Neill, a U.N. official, in a letter to Ros-Lehtinen. "In this particular case, the United Nations has shared with the government of Israel and the families, all information in its possession that could have shed light on the condition of the missing soldiers."

If U.N. peacekeepers worked with Hezbollah terrorists, there is no doubt in my mind that they would work hand in glove with Iraqi terrorists and their allies. Why would we expect American soldiers to be treated with more respect than Israeli soldiers by an organization that actively supported the Saddam Hussein regime? Why should we continue to use our tax dollars to support enablers of international Islamic terrorism?

[FairOpinion]

Excellent article.

Note how the media buried this news.