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To: rightgrafix
Why should France commit troops to Lebanon? They managed to get to pretend they were one of the word's heavy hitters by getting their name linked to the US as a deal broker, they got to preen and strut at the UN and to get a few brownie points with their old ex colonies and to boast that they still are a world power.
They got what they wanted out of the situation and from committing troops onward it would be all downside.
Besides, if the UN force turns out to be ineffectual because it hasn't sufficient troops, it fits their own aims of weakening Israel and hog tying any future US action to the UN where they know they can stall it indefinitely.
I'm afraid that Olmerts lack of resolve has seriously damaged Israel's reputation and emboldened it's enemies while Rice, who it appears has been listening to her State Dept. appeasement advisor's, has undermined her credibility and damaged the President with her bad advice to accept the deal.
This situation was a golden opportunity for Bush to implement his "preemptive" policy by using Isreal's foray into Lebanon as a way to go after Hezbollah's backers in Syria and Iran. Adroitly managed, Syria and Iran could have been drawn into the Lebanese conflict and provided an excuse for the US to intervene.
All wasted now.
The bottom line, it seems to me, is that the MSM have made it politically impossible for Bush to go after Iran after completely undermining his efforts in Iraq. From now on he will avoid any future Middle East initiatives and, short of a nuclear attack by Iran on US or Israel, will leave any future actions in that region to the next President to deal with.
18 posted on 08/17/2006 5:57:54 AM PDT by finnigan2
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To: finnigan2

"Why should France commit troops to Lebanon?" For eleven centuries France served as the protector of Christians in the Holy Land. Following World War I France ruled the Lebanon Mandate until 1941. And following World War II it served as the protector of a multi-religious state until the close of the Six Day War in 1967. Then, tragically, France began its slow, long withdrawal from the region. It attempted to use a feckless diplomacy to retain its former grandeur in Lebanon and Syria, but its unwillingness to shed French blood to ensure French interests was only too obvious. Today the French are seen as the poseurs they are. Thus, the presence of 100 French troops in Lebanon, or 1,000, or 10,000 is seen for what it is. Being and nothingness.


20 posted on 08/17/2006 6:22:22 AM PDT by gaspar
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