It’s very disturbing how often the US uses it’s UN veto to “protect” Isreal. The exact resolutions, and the US reasons for the vetos, are very interesting.

This is a link to one of the recent vetos on a resolution condemning Isreal for threatening the life of Arafat. I wonder how the US would react if another country threatened Bush? Oh wait, they invaded that country…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1043736,00.html

Here is a nice list of all the resolutions vetoed by the US
http://www.krysstal.com/democracy_whyusa03.html

Some of the highlights are:
“Opposes support for intervention in the internal or external affairs of states.”
“Declaration of non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states.”
“Affirms the right of every state to choose its economic and social system in accord with the will of its people, without outside interference in whatever form it takes.”

It’s obvious why the US would veto the first and third ones; this would mess with the basis for most of their foreign policy. The second one is just scary. The optimist in me hopes it’s because it would look bad retroactively for using nukes in WW2, but unfortunately the pessimist in me is louder in this case.