Posted on 08/25/2006 7:21:28 AM PDT by SJackson
PARIS Aug 25, 2006 (AP)— French President Jacques Chirac said Friday that he does not believe the expanded U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon needs 15,000 troops, and he called that figure "excessive."
A U.N. resolution calls for the force in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, to expand from 2,000 troops to 15,000.
Chirac, who has pledged a total of 2,000 French troops, said the territory in question was too small to require that many peacekeepers.
"My feeling is that the figure that was put forward at the beginning of discussions 15,000 for a reinforced UNIFIL was a figure that was quite excessive," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Chirac should note that the number of police who patrol the streets of Paris is also excessive.
"Where are we going to find enough white fabric in time?"
-Jacques Chirac
Only takes one lonely foot soldier to wave a white flag.
Chirac is right. How would they provide cheese to 15,000 troops.
This has got to be a record even for the French. They surrendered on their OWN UN resolution even before it was put in place!
LOL :^D
Beat me to it.
I think it is fascinating to see how many Europeans are now involved in fighting in the Middle East. Of course JK et al still say everyone hates us while they have come around to Bush's view with boots on the ground.
Hard as it is to believe, he may just have a point here. The UN is supposed to be patrolling the area south of the Litani River. That's an area rougly 18 miles by 25 miles. Do they really need 15,000 troops, half of them Muslim, plus the Lebanese army to control it? One way or the other the U.S. is going to be footing a big part of the bill for this, I don't want it wasted any more than it's already going to be.
Good point.
If on the other hand Charac's objective were legitimate, that is, if he wanted to prevent a terrorist guerrilla force from permeating the indigenous population, arming itself, and digging in, 15,000 troops on the ground could hardly do it.
So Israel has got itself into a hell of a position. Hizballah will be rearmed and repositioned under the protection of the UN and Israel will be constrained by the very same force. The whole raison d'être for the war has been stood on its head by Charac.
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Actually, what is happening is Chirac is finally being told that Rice and Bush have outmaneuvered him. Understand that the troops are not there, from the US perspective, to do anything other than get paid and eat. You see, the logistics put into place to pay, feed, clothe and provide R&R for these troops is going to pump money into the region that is not going to go through any corrupt Lebanese gov't.
It will go to the local entrepreneurs. This means economic activity and that means employment -- the bane of all terrorist recruiters.
Bush and Rice have maneuvered to gut Hezbollah where it really hurts, in personnel expense. For Hezbollah's funding sources to keep them going now, they have to outbid employers for young men -- not just pick them up off street corners.
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