Thoughts on the U.S. Veto of UN resolution on Israeli settlements

According to an article in The Hill, the U.S. sought to substitute a non-binding statement denying the "legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity" in order to avoid having to veto the Paletinian Authority's measure. Apparently, when that effort failed the United States cast the veto of a widely popular resolution.

Countries are complex. The United States is a long term ally of Israel. That does not mean that the United States likes all the people of Israel or all the policies of the Israeli government.

Alliances can change. The United States came into being as a result of war against England. The British invaded the United States in the War of 1812 and very nearly came into the U.S. Civil War on the side of the Confederacy to divide the United States permanently. It was only in the 20th century that the strong alliance with the United Kingdom developed and that alliance grew stronger when the British freed colonies that it was exploiting in Africa and Asia.

If the United States finds democratic powers in Islamic countries more important to our global interests and if the United States finds Israel dominated by parties indifferent to the suffering of Palestinians and unwilling to compromise on a two state solution, then.........