Italy won't send troops if Israel 'keeps shooting' (Reuters)

[laststeamtrain]

Italy won't send troops if Israel 'keeps shooting'

ROME (Reuters)Italy, which is expected to lead a UN Peacekeeping force in Lebanon, will be unable to send troops if Israel "keeps shooting", Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said on Tuesday.

"From Israel, we expect a renewed effort, this time truly binding, to respect the ceasefire," D'Alema said. "It's fair to expect that Hizbollah put down their weapons, but we cannot send our troops to Lebanon if the (Israeli) army keeps shooting." (Reuters)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060822/ts_nm/mideast_lebanon_italy_dc_1

[saigon68]

1. Everyone is lining up a DATE for the BIG DANCE

This is only round 1

[physioex]

3. None of this should as a big surprise....

I think the Neocons are clamoring for Israel to finish the job.

[Behind the Aegis]

4. Given some of the clamor here...

...I don't think the neo-cons are the only one hoping for war to erupt, they just have different reasons.

Italy won't send troops to Lebanon force if Israel 'keeps shooting'

By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent, and Agencies

Italy, which has offered to lead a United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, will be unable to send troops if Israel "keeps shooting", Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said Tuesday.

"From Israel, we expect a renewed effort, this time truly binding, to respect the ceasefire," D'Alema said. "It's fair to expect that Hezbollah put down their weapons, but we cannot send our troops to Lebanon if the army keeps shooting."

Italy has said it would be prepared to send 3,000 soldiers - the largest contingent to date - but has not committed to specific numbers, raising calls in some quarters for the Italians to take charge.

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said Monday that he has informed UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that Italy is ready to lead the multinational peacekeeping force.



more...

[Vidar]

2. Emminently reasonable on Italy's part, but I won't hold my breath.

[acmavm]

5. Really, I wouldn't be packing my bags. Israel has already shown

what its word is worth.

Why bother?

[Vidar]

7. Yup.

[Yupster]

15. I can't imagine why any country

would volunteer to send troops between Israel and Hezbullah.

[flordehinojos]

6. VIVA ITALIA.

[tocqueville]

8. Italy is starting to get cold feet

It's a nice thing when you are invited to do something on the international scene. Another to implement it.

[ConcernedCanuk]

9. Why don't that "super power" send in a few thousand troops?

.
.
.

They only got over 100,000 of them right across the border . . .

OH

Dat Super Power WANTS things to get messed up between Israel and Lebanon,

right?

Silly me . . .

Breathing this fresh clear air up in Northern Canada just addles my brain

Too much oxygen in it I guess

Not enuf toxins . . .

[zbdent]

10. It's strange how a "cease fire" sustains when there is

gunfire ...

:wtf:

[Flagg]

11. Isn't it ironic

that the French are being bashed for this even though they are the ONLY country who has so far actually sent troops over there ?

[FormerDem06]

12. France sent 200 soldiers......

With the 200 already there, they could hold down a small town maybe......



http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-08-18T161336Z_01_WBT005813_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST-BUSH.xml


The good news is Italy is sending troops as is Finland.....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14388044/

[Flagg]

13. Lebanon is still waiting for those troops

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

19. Your point is?

And by the way, what an interesting name you chose. Could you please tell me why?

[FormerDem06]

21. Sure, I guess my handle was a mistake around here in hindsight...

I am currently boycotting the Democratic Party in North Carolina. They are behaving like Delay Republicans currently and are marring the good name of the party in the State.

The bad news is that the house speaker Jim Black needs to resign and he won't.

http://www.nbc17.com/politics/6883692/detail.html
http://www.nbc17.com/politics/6839315/detail.html
http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A35286


snip

=======================================================
Although his lawyers argued that they were perfectly legal, Superior Court Judge James Spencer backed up the State Board of Elections on Aug. 7, ordering Black to return $6,800 in contributions that came to him via a stack of checks with the payee's name left blank, by way of the N.C. State Optometric Society.

On Aug. 1, Decker, the former representative (Republican) who got some of those checks, pleaded guilty in federal court to taking cash and checks in return for changing his vote for speaker and his political affiliation. A review of his campaign reports by The News & Observer shows he spent at least some of the money on a whirlwind trip to Arkansas. According to Decker, the exchange involved $38,000 in checks and $12,000 in cash handed over at a now-famous International House of Pancakes off Interstate 85 in Salisbury. Black admits meeting Decker there, but says Decker had offered to switch his vote before getting the contributions. Black also denies he handed over any cash. Decker is facing up to five years in jail and a $250,000 fine for his crime. He is due to be sentenced Nov. 1--six days before Election Day. New ethics legislation passed this summer bans both the practice of soliciting partially blank checks and converting campaign cash for personal use.
=======================================================


I have had enough of this type of stuff from the Republicans to endure it from the most powerful Democrat in my state. I will still be voting 100% Democrat in the national elections though. And when Black resigns, I'll need a new handle.

[KansDem]

14. If more countries refuse to show up at the "O.K. Corral"

...there won't be anyone around for the big shootout.

[breakaleg]

16. It's ironic that Israel claims to want this peace keeping force but they

are the ones preventing it from happening by continuing this war. Either they are completely stupid or their motives aren't as above board as they claim.

[Jacobin]

17. They're looking for someone else to solve their problems

Kinda like the U.S. does.

Blow shit up, piss off half the world, lose the war and then whine for someone else to come and 'fix it'

[knight_of_the_star]

18. They have to go in sooner rather than later

Israel has shown by ignoring the ceasefire that the only thing that will get them to back off is if there is an international peacekeeping force in the area that can hit back.

[moondust]

20. Doubt the cease-fire will work.

Per CNN the UN Peacekeeping force has the authority to defend themselves but not to disarm Hezbollah. Doubt that will be enough to satisfy everybody. Israeli intelligence will find out that Hezbollah is continuing to build up its weapons inventory and nobody is doing anything about it. Poof!

If the UN is not going to enforce its own mandate (1559) it would seem that we're back at square 1 with a bunch of bystanders in blue helmets caught in the middle.