By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, July 14 -- Even before the UN Security Council began meeting Thursday afternoon about the Dair Alzour in Syria, China's Deputy Permanent Representative Wang told the Press that “the issue shouldn't be here, it no longer exists.”
A Russian representative called Inner City Press aside and said, “We are only here because we are Council members. The Council is for threats to international peace and security, not for history.”
After Israel bombed Dair Alzour, the facility was destroyed. After the briefing -- and after for example French Ambassador Gerard Araud walked by the media assembled outside without saying anything -- Syria's Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari came out.
First he read to the press from former International Atomic Energy Agency director ElBaradei's book, “The Age of Deception,” about Israel's attack. Then he said that even if there were radiation at the site, it could have come from the bombs Israel had used.
Inner City Press asked Ja'afari if he thought the push to have this debate in the Security Council was related to the stalled draft resolution on the crackdown in Syria. Video here.
Ja'afari said yes, it is an “orchestrated campaign against my country... They try to mobilize all agencies against Syria.” He spoke on (BlackBerry) camera about the European draft resolution, the attempt to put language about the crackdown into the UNDOF resolution (click here for Inner City Press' story on that) and to this “nucear” issues, adding, “they are so polite, they call it implementation of the safeguard agreement.”
Inner City Press asked him, “What's the next move?”
Ja'afari answered, “biological or chemical.” Video here. And then he was gone.