Posted on 07/23/2006 5:44:11 AM PDT by Republicain
Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz has said that Israel would agree to the deployment of a multi-national force in southern Lebanon.
Mr Peretz, who was speaking after a meeting in Jerusalem with the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said Israel would support the deployment of a Nato force, "due to the weakness of the Lebanese army".
UK minister to meet Israeli counterpart
But he stressed that the current operation in Lebanon would continue until Hezbollah had been pushed away from the border, and reiterated that the fate of two Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah was key to resolving the crisis.
The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will leave for the Middle East later on Sunday.
Envoys from France and Britain are also holding talks in Israel to look for ways to resolve the crisis.
Kim Howells, a UK junior foreign minister, is due to meet Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a day after accusing Israel of targeting not Hezbollah but "the entire Lebanese nation".
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Sounds like Syria has a sudden intetrest in diplomacy before they get their butts handed to them.
"the fate of two Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah was key to resolving the crisis."
This is the critical part of the story.
Israel will allow a MultiNational force ONLY if the soldiers are freed.
Not before.
The BBC can twist in the wind all they want, but they aren't going to change the reality, no matter what they 'report'.
How are they spewing the terrorist line? I think this is a pretty good idea. A Nato force that does not include British or American troops (too unpopular) would be a better option than occupation by Israelis. It solves 2 problems, it negates the need for an Israeli occupation of South Lebanon, and they will be strong enough to deal with the likes of Hezbollah. Everybody wins (except the terrorist element).
Kim Howells, a UK junior foreign minister, is due to meet Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a day after accusing Israel of targeting not Hezbollah but "the entire Lebanese nation".
That is a regurgitation of a pure unadulterated Terrorist propaganda line.
When pigs fly......
Wasn't there *already* a UN force in southern Lebanon to supposedly "enforce" Resolution 1559? Fat lot of good that did.
You'd have to send in a large standing military force (several thousand at least) that actually got off their duffs and did what they were supposed to do--keep Hezbollah armaments out of south Lebanon and kill any terrorist that didn't obey--as opposed to do what UN "peacekeeping" forces generally do, which is extort the local population and rape children. Not to mention that any UN force down there will be attacked, and will have soldiers kidnapped and killed, at which point the UN will tuck tail and run and we'll be right back where we started.
It's an excellent idea in theory, but in practice, the UN has proven itself mostly incapable of doing what would need to be done in this situation--take a side and actually fight. With the way the UN is nowadays, I'd picture a UN force as a bigger threat to Israel than to Hezbollah, because they'd probably turn their head and let Hezbollah re-arm, while keeping their guns pointed at Israel.
}:-)4
NATO would be better than the ineffective UN. But considering how so many of the NATO member states feel about Israel, I'm still skeptical.
}:-)4
Or until the Lord returns, whichever comes first?
I understand the motivation, but operating on the expection that an independent Lebanese is ever going to be strong enough to withstand Iran seems unreasonable to me.
I agree. A NATO force would be better than the U.N. -- heck, the Union County Sheriff's Mounted Patrol would be better than the U.N. -- but I still don't think there's any chance of it's working out well for Israel or us.
Oops, that would be "independent Lebanese government."
None of the European states wants to see Israel destroyed (if push came to shove, they'd probably go to war with the Arabs to stop that happening), but they don't like Israel's reckless indifference to the lives of non-Israeli civilians. That is why a Nato force in South Lebanon is a best of both worlds solution to this problem.. The European militaries have the professionalism to be able to deal with terrorist militias like Hezbollah, but won't arouse the same level of hatred and contempt an Israeli presence would.
In the meanwhile, the French could make themselves useful in training and equiping the Lebanese army so that they will be capable of tackling Hezbollah in future..
The problem with permitting a U.N. force in Lebanon is if they begins to treat the terrorists as the victims, as they did with Kosovo. Before you know it, they'll be trying to form the new state of "Hizbolonia" in S. Lebanon.
Everyone knows that these terrorists only support a cease-fire when they need time to re-load. Cease-fires are for suckers.
Israel does not have a "reckless indifference for the lives of non-Israeli citizens," and the European states don't care either way if Israel is destroyed or not. Your post is full of false premises.
"The European militaries have the professionalism to be able to deal with terrorist militias like Hezbollah, but won't arouse the same level of hatred and contempt an Israeli presence would."
More false premises - Any Euro soldiers stationed in Lebanon would be sitting ducks for IEDs and snipers just like the US soldiers in Iraq. Better send a few thousand body bags with them, since the Lebanese will just follow the Iraqi tactics - press the detonator and then then melt back into the population.
It's impossible to "peacekeep" in an Arab area since the killers always wear street clothes and hide in civilian homes. The "peacekeepers" would never see a regular uniformed force, so they would think they were keeping the peace. However, the terrorists among the Lebs would still sneak out at night and launch rockets at Israel. This is unacceptable. Furthermore, Israel would not be able to shoot back due to the Euro human shields hanging around in the area.
"In the meanwhile, the French could make themselves useful in training and equiping the Lebanese army so that they will be capable of tackling Hezbollah in future."
Sheer foolishness. Yeah, let's give the Lebs more money, weapons and training so they can slaughter more Jews. Good thinking!
The UN was already there when this started.
As always as observers of their own weakness cowardess and inability to act in any way shape or form.
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