White House: Official ‘misspoke’ on Goldstone report

[Scurrilous]

Source: JTA

<snip>

"The White House says an official "misspoke" when he said the Obama administration would not allow the Goldstone report recommendations on Israel's conduct in the Gaza war to reach the International Criminal Court.

A top White House official told Jewish organizational leaders in an off-the-record phone call Wednesday that the U.S. strategy was to "quickly" bring the report -- commissioned by the U.N. Human Rights Council and carried out by former South African Judge Richard Goldstone -- to its "natural conclusion" within the Human Rights Council and not to allow it to go further, Jewish participants in the call told JTA.

Tommy Vietor, a White House spokesman, called JTA later to say the official "misspoke" and that administration policy on the Goldstone report remains as articulated last week by Susan Rice, the U.N. ambassador.

Rice described the UNHRC mandate as "unbalanced, one sided and basically unacceptable. We have very serious concerns about many of the recommendations in the report. We will expect and believe that the appropriate venue for this report to be considered is the Human Rights Council and that is our strong view."

She did not mention what the United States would do were the report to be referred to the ICC."

Read more: http://jta.org/news/article/2009/09/23/1008097/us-pledges-to-quash-goldstone

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Related thread:

U.S. pledges to quash Goldstone recommendations

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4073989&mesg_id=4073989

[Demeter]

1. Rahm, Is That You?

Bucking for Head Traitor?

[Frank Booth]

2. Honestly, the version from the White House official who "misspoke" doesn't

sound too different from the bullshit official version.

[Wizard777]

3. Is prompting a war a defense to war crimes charges?

I'm not aware of the they started it defense. I'm aware that the defense doesn't hold water when issued by children. So it should be a real no brainer when it comes to nations using it. Is there anything stopping a separate investigation of Palestine's war crimes against Israel? I think an equal protection of international law would be the better way to go. Now THAT I understand.

[BunkerHill24]

4. I'm glad so I didn't comment on the first report ....

Now I await if this report will stick.....


K&R

[shadowknows69]

5. A top White House official told Jewish organizational leaders in an off-the-record phone call...

WTF kind of journalism is that? An off record comment shouldn't be used as an anonymous source. The news today has become nothing but a self-sustaining tabloid rumor mill. I was taught to have a named source 99% of the time and take as few "said on the condition of anonymity...", "source close to the..." et al. as possible. Extreme cases, like say, Watergate, "Deep Throat" is acceptable but should never be the whole basis of your news reporting.

[bemildred]

6. Apparently, a lot of us have good bullshit sniffers. nt