Why the US sunk Gordon Brown's UN Security Council resolution

In a state of terminal boredom Lord Patel watched Prime Minister's Question time (PMQ's), for the first time ever today. He perked up when Jeremy Corbyn Labour MP , Islngton North, was called and asked (roughly correct, but look for the text in Hansard in the morning). See below for actual Hansard record.

"There is ample evidence that Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza , will the Government be making a case to bring them before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In a stony silence, Gordon saw it as a planted question and explained in his self congratulatiry and grating Lang Toon vowels how he had saved the world by sponsoring, writing, eding, wording, re-wording, burnishing , polishing, the UN resolution on Monday calling for a cease fire - failing to mention that out great ally had not signed up for this polished, tabernacle of plitical language and carefully nuanced UN flummery.

This is how the live report from the BBC ONline PMQ's AS IT HAPPENED - BY JUSTIN PARKINSON reported it .... er they didn't. The Times to their credit have the story .

Story Number two

We reported on the US absention on the UN resolution Gordon's UN Myrmidoms and minions had been burnishing and polishing and the consumption of midnight oil -Friday, January 09, 2009 UN votes for peace (except the US) and AIPAC makes sure the Senate votes for Israel and Zionism - all in one day. and the astonishing volte face by dusky beauty Condileezza Rice.

No explanation has been offered to explain her extraordinary behaviour.

Well there is one.

Priot to the vote corrupt, war criminal Ehud Olmert , PM of Israeli for the moment heard the terms of the resolution of the Security Council.

He exploded and called President Bush.

At this time President of the most powerful nation in the world was adressing an audience on Philadelphia on education policy the speech took 27-minutes and ended at 11:46 a.m..

Bush was interrupted, hauled, off, took the call and either directly or through staff told Condileeza Rice to abstain. Which she did about 10 hours later, shortly before 9:30 p.m.EST

The rest , as they say is history.

More here BUSH STOOPS FOR OLMERT WHO PISSES ON HIM

and here at Anti War Olmert Brags About Embarrassing Rice in UN Gaza Vote

“Early Friday morning the secretary of state was considering bringing the cease-fire resolution to a UNSC vote and we didn’t want her to vote for it.” Olmert said. “I said ‘get President Bush on the phone.’ They tried and told me he was in the middle of a lecture in Philadelphia. I said ‘I’m not interested, I need to speak to him now.’ He got down from the podium, went out and took the phone call.”

A beaming Olmert then described telling President Bush “the US cannot possibly vote in favor of this resolution,” and spoke with pride of how embarrassed US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was at having to abstain from voting for a resolution she helped to organize and gather support for.

See also Here on Al Jazeera (a service unavailable in US) Olmert call 'behind US abstention' and also Geoffrey Wheatcroft: How Israel gets away with murder Independent

So Israel - not a member of the UN Security Council can influence the result of their resolutions. ... and of course carry on bombing the shit out of anybody who gets in their way - using munitions, aircraft , weapons etc., supplied free C/O kind Uncle Sam.

Reuters here have another account in which the White House refute the story.... but unconvincing - Reuters say

Arab ministers said after the U.N. vote Thursday that Rice had promised them the United States would support the resolution, but then made an about-face after talking to Bush.

A few minutes before the scheduled vote at the United Nations, Rice's staff told reporters she would make a few brief comments beforehand, but then abruptly cancelled her press appearance, saying she would instead speak to Bush by phone.

She then entered the U.N. Security Council chamber, huddled with Arab ministers who shook their heads as she spoke to them. Immediately after the vote, Rice left for Washington without talking to reporters.

UPDATE from Hansard

Jeremy Corbyn (Islington, North) (Lab): Will the Prime Minister bear it in mind that, in the past three weeks, the Israeli forces have killed 1,000 people in Gaza, 300 of whom were children, and denied medical aid, food and energy and blockaded the people during the past year? These are war crimes. They have committed acts against the people of Gaza that ought to be referred to the International Criminal Court. Will the Prime Minister join the calls to ensure that that takes place?

The Prime Minister: We took action in drafting the resolution that went through the United Nations last week. Words cannot describe the feeling that families will have as a child dies, or at the level of civilian deaths and casualties and the displacement of 90,000 people in Gaza, but our resolution sought to call for an immediate ceasefire, to recognise the damage that had been done and was being done, and to call for humanitarian action—a call that I repeated when I talked to Prime Minister Olmert last night and asked him to increase the humanitarian action and to take the necessary action to achieve a ceasefire.

The reason why we supported the UN measure was that the Arab countries were also prepared to sign up to two things that are very important to any sustainable ceasefire. The first is an end to arms trafficking and particularly the destruction of the tunnels in Gaza. I talked to President Mubarak yesterday about what we can do and how we can help to achieve that. Secondly, of course— [Interruption.] I think this is important, as we will also need international support to execute the opening of the crossings. It is important that we have the support of the Arab League countries as well as the other countries that signed that motion. In other words, we are doing everything that we can to make possible an immediate ceasefire.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090114/debtext/90114-0003.htm