"When is a condemnation really a form of diplomatic rehabilitation? When it's delivered by the U.N. Security Council, which on Friday denounced the March sinking of the South Korean ship the Cheonan without denouncing anyone in particular for having sunk it.
It's as if the attack was a Sherlock Holmes mystery about a murder without a body. Never mind that everyone in the world knows that the Cheonan was sunk by a North Korean torpedo, killing 46 sailors in one of the worst acts of aggression since the Korean War ended nearly 60 years ago. A May report by a panel of global experts convened by South Korea to investigate the sinking left no doubt that the North perpetrated the act, despite Pyongyang's denials.
Seoul went to the Security Council to seek the global rebuke of the North, but China objected to a resolution that specifically blamed its clients in Pyongyang. Thus the Security Council retreated to writing a resolution that condemned the act of aggression but named no aggressor. Apparently the rogue underwater missile targeted and then launched itself against the South Korean vessel. I, Torpedo.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice tried to make the best of this embarrassment by saying the message to the North was "crystal clear" and that "The Security Council condemns and deplores this attack. It warns against any further attacks. And insists on full adherence to the Korean Armistice Agreement."
The torpedo couldn't be reached for comment, but the North Koreans quickly claimed what a spokesman called a "great diplomatic victory" because the U.N. had failed to back up South Korea's allegations against the North. "We have made it clear that this incident had nothing to do with us," he said.
More amazing still, the resolution that didn't bark is being hailed as a deft way to lure North Korea back to the six party talks over its nuclear program. Follow the logic: Since the North wasn't condemned for doing what everyone knows it did, the North's leaders might now be appeased enough to return to the nuclear talks they walked out of last year. Sink a ship, and gain new diplomatic respect. If former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton had predicted this scenario, the New York Times would have accused him of trying to undermine the credibility of the U.N.
It would be nice if we could dismiss the U.N. as a land of meaningless make-believe, but too many people, including the Obama Administration, imbue the U.N. with moral authority and the Security Council with the power to enforce collective global security. A body that refuses even to speak obvious truths about a murderous act, much less do anything about it, deserves no such authority, much less respect."
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