THAT'S OKAY--IT'S JUST ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE NECESSARY COMPROMISES. After all, what else could the EU have done?

The European Union, heavily outnumbered by African and Asian members on the U.N. Human Rights Council, on Thursday defended a new accord governing the body that has been severely criticized by the United States.

The EU said it, too, regretted that Israel will be regularly singled out by the council and that special investigations of Cuba and Belarus were halted. But it said it accepted the accord as a "necessary compromise" in the hope that the council will have enough good features to be effective as a defender of human rights.

The council was created in March 2006 to replace the widely discredited and highly politicized Human Rights Commission. But it has been criticized for failing to change many of the commission's practices, including putting more emphasis on Israel than on any other country.

Well, here's something they might have tried instead of wringing their hands and crying crocodile tears:

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said she was introducing legislation to halt U.S. funding to the council because of the agreement.

This is the same Congresswoman who tried something similar, and broader, last year:

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican of Florida, will introduce House legislation this week to slash American funding to the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations; designate the Palestinian Authority as a "terrorist sanctuary," and close down some Palestinian Authority offices in America as part of a reduction of Palestinian-American diplomatic ties.

In a cynical world, at least someone is trying.

[Hat tip: Contentions]

Technorati Tag: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and UN Human Rights Council and Israel