Libya." In a Falk blog entry published in Today's Zaman, Falk argued that, unlike protests in other countries, the Libyan opposition was reliant on military force "almost from the start" and that violent political reaction from within to Gaddafi's government was fully justified as an "expression of Libyan self-determination." He wrote that the Western-led military intervention was not aimed at protecting civilians from attack but to ensure a rebel victory and the defeat of Gaddafi. Boston Marathon bombing In a posting on Falk's blog called "A Commentary on the Marathon Murders," reprinted by Al-Jazeera, he wrote about the "horrific" Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013. Falk commented: "the American global domination project is bound to generate all kinds of resistance in the post-colonial world. In some respects, the United States has been fortunate not to experience worse blowbacks." He contrasted the critical response to the bombing from callers to a PBS program with those of US politicians and the mainstream media among whom he said self-scrutiny remained "taboo" and that American politicians did not "have the courage to connect some of these dots." He also criticized American policy towards the nuclear program of Iran and friendship with Israel and wrote that more attacks are likely "if there is no disposition to rethink US relations to others in the world, starting with the Middle East." Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird criticized Falk by stating that, not for the first time, Falk "spewed more mean-spirited, anti-Semitic rhetoric". The United Kingdom, in a statement by its UN mission, said that it was "the third time we have had cause to express our concerns about Mr. Falk's anti-Semitic remarks." United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon rejected Falk's statements by saying that they undermined the credibility and work of the UN. United States Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice wrote on Twitter: "Outraged by Richard Falk's highly offensive Boston comments. Someone who spews such vitriol has no place at the UN. Past time for him to go". Falk's statements were also criticized by numerous publications and advocacy groups, including the New York Daily News, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), The Jerusalem Post, Sohrab Ahmari of The Wall Street Journal, UN Watch, the Anti-Defamation League, and the American Jewish Committee. Scott McConnell responded to the criticism in The American Conservative: "Amazing for its viciousness and rank dishonesty is the campaign waged against UN special rapporteur