Cautious France says ready to lead UN Lebanon force

[tocqueville]

By Crispian Balmer
15 minutes ago


PARIS (Reuters) - France is willing to lead a new U.N. presence in Lebanon at least until February, so long as the force is given a clear mandate and strong powers, Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said on Wednesday.

Alliot-Marie told French television she hoped a large number of European and Muslim countries would take part in the beefed-up U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), but said the United Nations must define the operation.

"France wants the mission's rules of engagement to be clear and it to have real means," said a highly cautious Alliot-Marie, giving no indication of when the new force might take shape.

......................................

The United Nations hopes France will lead advance contingents of up to 3,500 troops to southern Lebanon which the world body wants to field within two weeks.

Pellegrini met Israeli commanders on Wednesday and told Israel's Channel 10 that U.N. troops could begin to deploy next week. "We will (try to) deploy as soon as possible. Maybe some elements (will be on the ground) at the beginning of next week."




United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) unloads supplies from French vessels at Naqoura village in south Lebanon August 15, 2006. REUTERS/Sharif Karim

[Denver Dave]

1. Good for France !

Good for France. Maybe we can start eating French fries again.

[Nimrod2005]

2. That's very good news...I hope French companies get all the rebuilding

contracts - NO BIDS!!!

[ShaneGR]

3. Wonder what the reaction will be when French troops fight Hezbollah...

Cuz it will happen, even if its just skirmishes. It will be their responsibility to take down rocket launching capabilities.

[Solo_in_MD]

4. The French general now in charge of UNIFIL says fighting is not their job

neither is disarmin Hezbollah. Its one of the reasons UNIFIL has been so ineffective.

[tocqueville]

6. it's not to the UN to do Israel's job

those claims are uncredible. Israel just fucks up in a war that was aimed as a repetition of an intervention in Iran under PRETEXT of disarming the Hezbollah (the Hezbollah was just a nuisance and only became a threat after the Israeli aggression on Lebanon) and now has the arrogance to ask OTHERS to do what they were unable to do.

the UNIFIL mandate is to secure a lasting cease-fire in southern Lebanon. That means shooting at ANYBODY that threatens the peace. This time it is not going to be just "observers" and sitting ducks for the Israeli artillery.

Hizbollah's disarming is a matter for the Lebanese government.

[Solo_in_MD]

9. Shots fired by a UN force?

Surely you jest. Unless they are under direct attack they have nevered fired back.

[Solo_in_MD]

5. Other articles state that they are aleady in charge of the force that

there...not a stirring reccomendation

[tocqueville]

7. depends of the mandate

the former UNIFIL mandate was a joke because of the pressure exerced by Israel and the US on the UN. Israel has NEVER wanted any real forces in the region, specially not in the Palestinian conflict, which had been the normal standard in similar situations. Because they were "in the way" for Israeli interests. Same applied to Lebanon.

Now that Israel has been beaten, they BADLY need a force there. So they have reluctantly accepted. Asking that force then to do the job they failed to do is the height of arrogance. The idiot Bush even said in an interview yesterday that they ought to BLOCK Lebanese ports (when the task is to open them) and to deploy on the SYRIAN border.

What do all these idiots think ? that we are as stupid as them ? it reminds me when Bush wanted NATO to take over in Iraq. Europe told him "go and Cheney yourself".

[scarletwoman]

8. How about a link? Not that I couldn't find it on my own, but a link makes

it much quicker.

There is certainly some kind of irony here in French military forces returning to a former "protectorate". I'm assuming that people know at least a little something about how France was "given" the Levant when the European powers were divvying up the Middle East after the Ottoman Empire lost control.

It is really going to be extremely interesting to watch the formation of this combined UN/Lebanese "army" security force. (The word "farce" keeps springing to mind -- but I am not without hope.)

There are most certainly some furious negotiations going on within the Lebanon government right now -- a government in which the Hizbullah Party is a duly elected participant (lest anyone forget). And there are plenty of Shi'a in the regular Lebanese army -- Shi'a who have cousins and other kin in Hizbullah. Shi'a who may also be very likely to have felt some personal impact of Israel's wholesale bombing of Shi'a villages throughout southern Lebanon, and the wholesale bombing of the Shi'a residential areas in Beruit.

Whatever the ultimate shape of the UNSC Resolution 1701 Force finally shakes out to be, I simply can't imagine that it will be making any serious effort at "disarming" Hizbullah. What I DO hope it can do is serve to keep Israel's militarism in check. What I am most afraid of is that the neocon/Israel alliance will be feverishly looking for ANY possible pretext to break the ceasefire and restart hostilities with an eye to expanding the war to Iran. That's still the ultimate goal of the War Cartel, after all.

sw

[enigma000]

10. What's French for Quagmire ? n/t