The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, accused Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice of giving in to French and Lebanese demands over the terms of the cease-fire that halted the 2006 Second Lebanon War, according to a document recently obtained by Haaretz. The claims were made in a letter sent by Israel's deputy ambassador to the UN, Daniel Carmon, to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on August 11, 2006. The content of the letter strengthens Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's claims justifying the last major ground operation of the war, which began that day and claimed the lives of 33 Israel Defense Forces soldiers.
Olmert maintains that on Thursday, August 10, negotiations in New York over UN Resolution 1701, which ended the war, took a turn that adversely affected Israel's interests for the resolution. The prime minister has argued that this negative turn of events made necessary the operation during the final 60 hours of the war. The Winograd Commission report on the management of war, set to be released tomorrow at 6 P.M., is expected to focus on the legitimacy of that operation.
The letter is entitled "Security Council discussions - the conversation between Gillerman and Bolton," detailing a discussion between Bolton and Daniel Gillerman, Israel's ambassador to the UN. In the letter, Carmon emphasized that Rice had agreed that the draft cease-fire resolution would stipulate that the international peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon would operate under Chapter VI of the UN charter, which would give it observer status only.
She also agreed that the disputed Shaba Farms, the border area claimed by Hezbollah as Lebanese territory but internationally recognized as Syrian, would be mentioned in the resolution. Israel opposed both clauses.
The letter also states that, "Bolton said tonight in a conversation with Gillerman that the secretary of state took the task of negotiations [over the resolution] upon herself, and she is personally involved in all of its details.
"The actions of the secretary of state stem from her determination to bring the decision up for a vote tomorrow, Friday. For that purpose she will arrive here tomorrow at 10 A.M., and will intensify the process... Bolton described with sorrow a situation in which the French surrendered to all of the Arab demands, and the United States isn't prepared to give up on the 'holy alliance' with the Europeans.
"[Bolton] promised to try in a meeting tomorrow with the French ambassador to take Shaba Farms out [of the draft]... but he doubts it will help. In his opinion, the French man won't make an effort in that direction. In response to Gillerman's question about what can be done, Bolton responded that only a conversation between Olmert and President Bush can, if at all, change the face of things and rescue the situation." |