Posted on 07/28/2006 6:44:57 AM PDT by IrishMike
The United Nations has decided to remove unarmed observers from their posts along the Israeli-Lebanese border, moving them in with the peacekeeping force in the area, a spokesman said today. The decision came after one of the posts of the observer force, known as UNTSO, was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike earlier this week, killing four.
“These are unarmed people and this is for theirprotection,” said Milos Struger, a spokesman for Unifil, the peacekeeping force whose 2,000 members have light weapons for self-defence.
Earlier, Israel’s UN ambassador has ruled out major UN involvement in any potential international force in Lebanon, saying more professional and better-trained troops were needed for such a volatile situation.
Dan Gillerman also said Israel would not allow the United Nations to join in an investigation of an Israeli airstrike that demolished a post belonging to the current UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
“Israel has never agreed to a joint investigation, and I don’t think that if anything happened in this country, or in Britain or in Italy or in France, the government of that country would agree to a joint investigation,” Gillerman said yesterday.
Gillerman, who spoke at an event hosted by The Israel Project advocacy group and later inside the United Nations, gave a heated defence of Israel’s two-week campaign against Hezbollah militants. He said some diplomats from the Middle East had told him that Israel was doing the right thing in going after Hezbollah.
His refusal to conduct a joint investigation will be a slap to UN officials, who have specifically sought to partner with Israel to investigate the bombing.
Gillerman was highly critical of the current UN peacekeeping force, deploye in a buffer Zone between Israel and Lebanon since 1978, saying its facilities had sometimes been used for cover by Hezbollah militants .
(Excerpt) Read more at breakingnews.iol.ie ...
Yepper !!
As to your first question, no, this is a peacekeeping mission. Their job, if they saw Hezbollah or some other group doing something inconsistent with how it is supposed to be, would be to knock on the door and say please don't do this. They wouldn't go in with guns blazing.
I'd say they could do that from the UN HQ in NYC, but that would make it harder to aid and abet Hezbollah. Which is what UNIFIL is really doing in Lebanon.
Why weren't they removed on day one of hostilities? They are "observers" and thus non-combatants....
We deeply mourn the loss of UN soldiers in the current fighting. But, we ask, what were they doing there? They are “observers,” “noncombatants,” and “peacekeepers.” Why didn’t Kofi Annan have them removed to safety when the fighting erupted? Kofi?
Innocent lives were lost as the UN dithered. Shameful.
http://extendedremarks.blogspot.com/2006/07/few-questions-for-kofi-annan.html
What are light weapons?
..a can of powder blue spray piant, a white flag, and a flashlight..(the light weapon)
Doogle
rifles, hand guns
Couldn't the UN just as easily create unmanned monitoring border stations with cameras, manned from remote locations?
Certainly the technology exists. The IDF is uses drones and high tech surveillanceto go after Hezbollah.
kofi should be removed for this lack of action, on top of all the many other things to his discredit. remove kofi now.
As far as I'm concerned the UN kept those people there as human shields in direct violation of geneva convention rules.
The geneva convention rules clearly state that the use of human shields does not make a legitimate target immune from attack. In other words, you're allowed to kill willing or unwilling human shields in an attack on a legitimate target. The criminal liability lies with those holding unwilling human shields.
Pretty much sums up the UN thinking all in one sentence doesn't it?
Boy that U.N...... such pioneers in foresight.
Why weren't they removed on day one of hostilities?
****
Key question. Unfortunately for Kofi and the gang, and the planned propaganda value of the deaths of these men, the Canadian who died was able to communicate with a colleague in Canada about the fact that they were sitting ducks.
Most of the media missed it yesterday but a UN employee was arrested yesterday as a key player in a drug smuggling ring that brought 25 tons of drugs into the USA.
Is this Scrappleface?
Let me get this straight: a U.N. post - that allows the Hezbos to be next to it and shoot rockets into Israel - gets accidentally hit (this is war, you know) and it's going to move its observers to be with a peacekeeping force... IN A FRICKING WAR ZONE???
Is this Scrappleface?
Kofi wants these people to die so that he can stay at his job. What an evil man.
Rifles & side arms ?
I think the UN has kept UNIFIL personnel in the line of fire so that Israel would not overrun their former bases and discover just how closely they have collaborated with Hezbollah for the past several years.
If Kofi can keep UNIFIL personnel on UNIFIL bases until there is a ceasefire, then none of us will ever see the evidence.
"more professional and better-trained troops were needed for such a volatile situation."
I love it. The only truly effective "Peacekeeper" used to be called "MX" (ICBM re-named by Ronald Reagan for you youngsters).
I think there used to be a revolver in the old west with that nickname, too, but I couldn't Google it up...
The UN ought to be disbanded, but, then again it seems that only stupid and ineffective things/people rise to the top in any consistent manner.
It's tough to have much foresight when your navel keeps blocking your view.
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