By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, July 18, updated -- Hours before the Security Council's scheduled vote on, and probably veto of, the UK tabled Syria resolution under Chapter Seven, in Damascus the Assad government's defense minister and Assad's own brother in law were killed in by a 45 kilogram TNT and C-4 bomb, according to the Free Syrian Army.
(Liwa al-Islam also claimed credit, saying on Facebook no less that the "so-called crisis management cell in the capital Damascus was targeted by explosion device by the Master of Martyrs battalion Brigade of Islam.")
This led immediately to dueling statements from Permanent Five members of the Security Council, making a veto even more certain.
UK foreign minister William Hague jumped in: "This incident, which we condemn, confirms the urgent need for a Chapter VII resolution of the UN Security Council on Syria."
Russian foreign minster Sergey Lavrov said, "Adopting a resolution against this backdrop would amount to a direct support for the revolutionary movement. If we are talking about a revolution then the U.N. Security Council has no place in this."
Seeming to react to that, envoy Kofi Annan asked for a delay in the voting, which the UK quickly said it would "consider." Inner City Press reads this as "grant," as in Mark Lyall Grant.
But what can happened, between now and the Friday (or some say Saturday) expiration of the mandate of the UNSMIS mission? Could the resolution be redraft?
Given the Security Council's usual reaction to "terrorist" attacks, might Russia asked for one? Watch this site.
Update of 11:26 am -- on his way into the Security Council, Li Baodong of China told the Press that what happened in Damascus was "terrorist." Said there's a meeting of the five Permanent Members of the Security Council.
Another non-Western Security Council member asked Inner City Press, "So this bombing was done by defenseless people?"
Update of 12:25 pm -- Araud of France emerged and announced to the press:: vote tomorrow at 10 am. He's asked, Did Russia negotiate? "No," Araud said. US Ambassador Susan Rice is asked, do you expect anything new from Russia? "No," she says.
Update of 1 pm -- a good source exclusively tells Inner City Press of a Permanent Five meeting this afternoon. It ain't over until it's over?
