Lebanese Protesters Declare UN The Enemy

The UN's supposed moral neutrality and superiority are now gone, at least in the eyes of the Lebanese islamists.  Does anyone remember the Iraqi Information Minister's increasingly bizarre press conferences as he assured reporters that Coalition Forces could not even come close to the heart of Baghdad, even as bombs, missiles, and even tanks took out buildings behind him?  I wonder why I'm thinking of that right now:

We appreciate the intervention of the highest Lebanese authorities to provide protection for the U.N. headquarters in Beirut and Lebanon's need for the United Nations and ESCWA," said Tallawy, the executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

Uh, yes, looks like their doing a real bang-up job there, with conclusive proof on the competence of those Lebanese security forces against those poor Hezbollah sympathisers:

 

Wait, where are the Israeli bombs "deliberately" targeting this outpost?

 

The usual noises are now being made.  A UN spokesman tried to tie this "demonstration" to Israel's latest attack: "We understand the feeling of the Lebanese people after many civilian victims fell in the bombardment of Qana ... which reminds us of the tragedy that befell the people of the village in 1996," said Mervat Tallawy, U.N. under-secretary-general.  But he leaves out the details that the protesters attacked the UN flag first and ripped it to shreds.  Of course, Reuters doesn't have a picture of that, but they do have a great staged photo of Lebanese stomping an American flag.

 

...you put your left foot out, you do the hokey-pokey...

 

Who brought the flag? It definitely would not have been hanging anywhere near the UN building.  This story's got all the elements of a usual Middle East riot story, except it happened to the UN. But the story cannot be linked to usual "frustration" with Middle East violence, because the crowd was chanting the "Death to America" stuff along with Hezbollah slogans.  This was a Hezbollah crowd attacking the UN.  Where is their moral neutrality now? Hezbollah's attacks are against the West, and the UN is actually one of the largest symbols of western civilization, not just America.  The United States just has not been willing to be used as a dupe or a tool for the destruction of Israel.  Is this a turning point?  Not yet, at least by the under-secretary's reaction.  But now, Israel and Hezbollah have attacked UN positions.  The UN should ask itself, which attack was "deliberate?"

Update: Demonstrators in Gaza have ransacked UN offices there.  Two people were wounded.  UN officials escaped before being harmed.  Looks like the turning point has been reached on Hezbollah's and Hamas' side.  UN is still tying this to the Israeli attack on Qana.