UNITED NATIONS - Countries that could contribute to an expanded U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon were gathering Thursday to find out how the troops will operate, and U.N. officials hoped many would commit soldiers.
France, meanwhile, wants to send a small, purely symbolic contingent to the force, and the
United Nations is trying to convince French officials that such a decision would be devastating, a news report said Thursday.
Though France has been widely expected to lead the force, the newspaper Le Monde reported that it planned to contribute merely 10 officers and 200 military engineers.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was expected to call President Jacques Chirac on Thursday to persuade France to make a larger commitment, Le Monde said, citing unidentified diplomatic sources.
A French Defense Ministry spokesman declined to comment on the report.
The U.N. resolution that led to Monday's cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah authorized up to 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to help 15,000 Lebanese troops extend their authority throughout south Lebanon, which Hezbollah controls.
The aim is to create a buffer zone free of Hezbollah fighters between Lebanon's Litani River and the U.N.-drawn border, about 20 miles to the south.
French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said in an interview with France-2 television Wednesday that the mandate of the strengthened force is still "fuzzy" and warned that the United Nations needs to spell out its exact mission and rules of engagement.
That's what U.N. peacekeeping officials will do at a meeting Thursday afternoon chaired by Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown.
Britain's U.N. Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said he expects early agreement at the meeting on the concept of operations and the rules of engagement, which have been drafted with help from French and U.S. military planners.
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So the French only want to send a symbolic force, somewhere around 210 soldiers, that proves that France is not serious about the plan that they brokered and that they could give two shits about Israel or the peace.
If France wants itself to be taken seriously and as an international power than it needs to proceed as such, they have been divisive and very weak when it come to dealing with the infestation of immigrants that they have in that country.
I’m all sure you remember the riots of not that long ago, where the savage Muslim youths went around setting every car ablaze and causing thousands and thousands of dollars worth of damage.
I am sick and tired of every time a Muslim or Arab does something to hurt someone or inflict mass damage, they totally downplay his background and only vaguely state the region that the perp is from.
If France truly wants peace in the Middle East than they must help to achieve it, not just talk about it, but truly help the process along by providing troops to help create the buffer zone with Israel and to help make sure that Iran and Syria do not once again rearm Hezbollah.
Now ex-president Jimmy Carter (bozo deluxe) has stated in an interview with a German paper that the world should forget about the Holocaust and we should forget our history when it comes to German troops on the border with Israel.
While I am all for moving forward and not dwelling on the past, this is something that can not be overlooked or bypassed in anyway.
I have no problem with Germany deploying troops to help the violence and to create that buffer zone, but they should not be deployed near the border with Israel, there are other areas in the country which need troops that Germany could have a part in.
I just believe that it is a very tricky and delicate situation, no one, myself included is trying to equate the Germany of today with that of the 1930’s and 40’s, we all know that Germany is a vastly different country than before and thankful for that.
If France wants to be a leader in international politics than they need to lead from the front or get the hell out of the way, it’s as simple as that.
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8 comments:
Jesus that was fast.. You may not have the slightest clue how to form a coherent sentence in English, but you sure as hell know how to delete comments in a flash.
And yes.. it does matter.. dumbass.
what the hell u talking about
Posted a comment and it was gone 30 seconds later.. assumed it was deleted. Must have just been a technical glitch.
If you present your case without directly insluting me i'm not going to delete it.
200 troops for the ceasefire from France is disappointing. Then again, I can't blame them, they probably remember the 50 French troops killed by terrorists in Beruit several years ago.
The UN may well now struggle to get the 15,000 strong force it expected.
At the end of the day, if the ceasefire is kept by Hezbollah, Israel will welcome the peace. But it is down to the Lebanese Government to make sure that Hezbollah keep to the ceasefire.
If they can't ensure Israel's safety, the whole of Lebanon will once again - quite rightly - take the consequences.
But let's face it, this is a side show. Iran and Syria are the real forces behind the recent hostilities, and it is they that need defeating.
That's who ordered Hezbollah to kick off the crisis with Israel, and it was they who supplied the anti-tank missiles & long range missiles directly to this terrorist organisation.
It is Iran's goal to acquire nuclear weapons. They will acquire these weapons unless action is taken very soon. I think your President and Israel understand this, and will take the action required.
LBM (UK)
Yes I have no doubt that Bush will take out Iran if they refuse to stop.
If Iran does indeed develop nukes, the only eveidence that will be found will be the smoldering hole once know as Tel Aviv. Of course, it will have been Hezbollah terrorists that set it off, so Iran can feign innocence. Just my prediction. Go ahead tom.
You are very correct my friend
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