Richard Falk: Representative of the U.N. Human Rights Council, And Conspiracy Theorist

Not everyone thinks that the full explanation of what happened on 9/11 has yet been given:

9/11: More than meets the eye

Discussion of the very real doubts over the World Trade Center attacks was conspicuously absent from the US presidential race. But America's international image will always be tainted as long as the uncertainty remains

Every so often attention is called anew to the doubts surrounding the true character of the events surrounding the 9/11 attacks. Recently, the report of the collapse of Building 7 represented such an occasion. Any close student of 9/11 is aware of the many serious discrepancies between the official version of what took place and the actual happenings on that fateful day in 2001. David Ray Griffin and others have analyzed and assessed these discrepancies in such an objective and compelling fashion that only wilful ignorance can maintain that the 9/11 narrative should be treated as a closed book, and that the public should move on to address the problems of the day.

But this article is not written by some unknown crackpot--it is an article written by Richard Falk, special representative of the U.N. Human Rights Council, who is charged with investigating Israeli abuses against Palestinian Arabs.

And that is where the problem lies...or gets worse.

UN Watch came out with a press release about Falk, noting in part that

"The very credibility of the UN mission to preserve international peace and security is at stake," said UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer. "The UN can't claim to oppose Al Qaeda terrorists while its officials seek to deny their most ghastly crimes.

"Dominated by Arab states, the 47-nation UN rights council appointed Falk to the only mandate that is immune from regular review, with Saudi Arabia, Cuba, and other member states voicing strong support for his work.

“How tragic that in the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN’s representative figures have gone from luminaries like Eleanor Roosevelt to loonies like Richard Falk.” said Neuer.

“Falk’s biased mandate, radical politics, and crackpot views are a microcosm of what has become of the UN’s highest human rights body, where the world’s worst abusers divert attention from their crimes, attacking Israel in 80 percent of the resolutions,” said Neuer. "Innocent victims are being slaughtered in Congo, yet the council just eliminated its scrutiny of that country, saying it wasn't needed."

Joel Brinkley looked into the issue:

I talked with Neuer, and with Falk. In any conversation about Falk, Neuer's fundamental concern is on a different plane. The Human Rights Council, he notes, has fired its special representatives for Cuba, Liberia, Uzbekistan - even Congo. But one state has a permanent monitor not subject to debate or renewal. That is Israel, and Falk holds that position. "He has a very serious mandate," Neuer said. "People who question whether 9/11 happened are not serious people. No one in the United States or the West could be in positions of authority if they engaged 9/11 conspiracy talk."

Falk, of course, disagrees. He notes that his position is part-time - and unpaid. "I've been trying to balance different agendas and roles. I am an academic and a citizen. And I don't think those roles reflect on my position as special rapporteur."

Falk apparently is not willing to admit that evidence of his poor judgement and overall frame of mind cuts across all positions of authority he may occupy.

Brinkley compares this conspiracy theory with the one that claims that Neil Armstrong never walked on the moon--the whole thing was filmed in a water tank:

It's a free country; you're entitled to think whatever you like. But this is fringe stuff. Would we ever have appointed an advocate of the water-tank theory to a senior position in government? The Human Rights Council is already an embarrassment to the United Nations. Certainly reasonable people can criticize Israel, just as they can find fault with the Palestinians. But the council's pathological obsession with Israel is its defining characteristic, and Falk is its embodiment.

...I do care that the man whose job now is to help the Islamic states pursue their vendetta against Israel also believes that the U.S. government is capable of such unspeakable evil. What does that tell you about his frame of mind for his United Nations job?

Some would say that it shows he fits right in.

Note: Today Falk was turned away from entering Israel because of his comments legitimizing Hamas terrorism and comparing Israel to Nazi Germany. Based on his 9/11 conspiracy beliefs, maybe the US should follow suit.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

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