Last week the American delegation to the United Nations sought to have a Security Council endorsement of talks between Israel and the Palestinians. This was not run by the Israelis-a departure from tradition and diplomatic protocol. When Israel found this had transpired, objections were raised since Israel looks askance at Security Council pressure and saw no need for UN involvement-which is usually biased against Israel. The measure was withdrawn after pressure from the White House. Questions remain about the issue-how this course of affairs came about, what motivated this departure from custom? As Rod Serling from the Twilight Zone used to intone (and the UN is the Twilight Zone) "..."consider this if you will." Our Ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilizad, lionized by the New York Times treasures his friendship with Lakhdar Brahimi-a former Algerian Foreign Minister and UN employee (this friendship is highlighted in the Times article). Brahimi has boasted he is...(Read Full Post)