Bolton Leads Charge Against Ahmadinejad

I'm generally a free speech advocate. But when pressure mounts for us to negotiate with dispicable thugs, and the chief thug is actively confabbing with others who want to perpetrate genocide, then I'm open to suggestions.

John Bolton has an idea, says the Financial Times (which uses a unique hyphenated approach to the chief thug's name):

In one of his first acts since leaving his post as US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton will on Thursday call for legal proceedings against Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad for incitement to genocide.

Mr Bolton will join Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the UN, Irwin Cotler, a former Canadian attorney-general, and Nobel peace prize winner Elie Wiesel in claims that a series of public statements against Israel constitute a crime under the Genocide Convention. ...

A 68-page study produced by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, and the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, argues that Mr Ahmadi-Nejad’s declaration that “Israel should be wiped off the map” is part of a hate campaign punishable under international law.

A series of remarks by Mr Ahmadi-Nejad, including one in which he reportedly questioned whether Zionists were human beings, “constitute direct and public incitement to genocide”, the study alleges. While reminiscent of incitement before the Rwanda genocide, “the critical difference is that while the Hutus in Rwanda were equipped with machetes, Iran, should the international community do nothing to prevent it, will soon acquire nuclear weapons,” it says.

Mr Gold told the FT that while “most people think of [legal proceedings against] genocide in terms of setting up tribunals after the crime has been committed”, the challenge was to stop genocide before it begins.

“The question is, what specifically can be done? Let the Security Council meet and discuss the issue,” he said.

The initial UN reaction, from Juan Mendez, who's obviously doing exceptionally well in his job as Special Advisor for the Prevention of Genocide, was typically bizarre. He said he wasn't inclined to take action because he saw his role as one of helping those who don't have the wherewithall to protect themselves. Like Tutsis, for example.

Mr. Mendez did not specify how Israel should protect itself against a smuggled nuclear device or a flock of rockets headed its way. It is presumed he did not mean Israel should send a nuclear gag order Ahmadinejad's way.

Hat-tip: Real Clear Politics
Related Tags: Ahmadinejad, Israel, Bolton, Genocide, Islam