UN Ambassador Bolton Blocks Measure Condemning Lethal Israeli Attack on UN

On Tuesday, four UN peacekeeping troops died in an Israeli airstrike in Khiam in southern Lebanon. UN commanders say their outpost came under attack for hours and that Israel ignored 10 calls to stop. By the time the assault ended peacekeeping troops from Canada, Finland, China and Austria had died.

Israel is denying its troops were targeting the UN. But the Consul General of Israel in New York, has accused the UN troops of being sympathetic to Hezbollah.

Last week interim U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton dismissed calls for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, and today the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is holding hearings on Bolton’s nomination to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Last year President Bush gave Bolton a recess appointment after he failed to win enough support in the Senate.

Phyllis Bennis joins us from Washington, D.C. -- she is a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, specializing in Middle East and United Nations issues. She is the author of several books including ‘Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy US Power.’

* Phyllis Bennis. Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC, specializing in Middle East and United Nations issues. She is the author of several books including "Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy US Power."

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