England chose to appeal to the United Nations Security Council to get a unanimous censure over the taking of 15 British soldiers hostage by Iran. Seemingly it would have been a pretty easy thing to do because it’s just words.

But then comes in Russia and Indonesia who opposed the measure because they “did not want to give the impression that the council was taking sides.” Yeah, but that’s what the UNSC does. It takes sides in international disputes.

After four hours of negotiations yesterday, the Security Council could only agree a watered-down version of the statement, voicing “grave concern”, which fell far short of Britain’s demands.

It read: “Members of the Security Council expressed grave concern at the capture by the Revolutionary Guard and the continuing detention by the government of Iran of 15 United Kingdom naval personnel and appealed to the government of Iran to allow consular access in terms of the relevant international laws.

“Members of the Security Council support calls, including by the secretary general in his March 29 meeting with the Iranian foreign minister, for an early resolution of this problem including the release of the 15 UK personnel.” (source)

Long live the ghost of Kofi Anan, who apparently still resides at the UN even though his tenure is officially over. It wouldn’t have mattered to Iran if the UNSC had delivered the exact speech England wanted because Iran is already in defiance of the UNSC, the IAEA and the entire UN.  Iran claims it is upset about sanctions and the like, but it’s not as if Iran has done anything to alter certain behavior.  In fact they’ve ramped it up.

Now in the United States, the House of Representatives moves to censure the hostage taking and give a voice of support to a friend and ally in England. Again, it seemed like a certainty the measure would pass. But alas, just as the UN has Russia and Indonesia, the House has Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to block a vote on the measure for, well, some reason I suppose. Maybe there’s some more pork to throw into a national security bill that Pelosi will find laying around, or, better yet, maybe Pelosi can throw in some pork into a censure measure to at least bring it to the floor?  I hear blue jays in Washington are struggling to compete against the Sasquatch.