UNIFIL's new mandate is a bad joke

[tocqueville]

if confirmed, it's a farce as usual

according to a copy of the draft obtained by Le Monde the rules are the following :

disarming the Hizbollah is a pure Lebanese affair and not an objective for the force.

force can be used to

defend itself
protect civilians
disarm "militias they might encounter"

Force cannot be used against breaches of cease fire

http://fr.news.yahoo.com/22082006/5/la-finul-renforcee-pourra-ouvrir-le-feu-pour-proteger-des.html

so we are practically back in a "Bosnian situation", where you have the right to be taunted, shot upon and blamed by the international community (and specially one warring party) for "doing nothing". You can choose between being killed by Israeli "mistakes" or by Hezbollah car bombs.

How do you protect civilians from bombing or shelling without a no fly zone ?

As a former French minister said it yesterday, France had to vote for the resolution to stop the fighting knowing it was a bad alternative. The US/Israel part doesn't want a chapter 7 resolution with mandate of peace enforcement.

Chirac must go out loud and expose this charade.

[Fredda Weinberg]

1. Isn't Bosnia peaceful now? n/t

[tocqueville]

3. Oh yes it is peaceful now

because France and the UK BROKE the UN mandate and blasted the Serbs away from the hills they were occupying.
And Clinton helped them with some tomahawks cruise missiles. For that they got plenty of criticism from the Republicans. But you don't want that we do the same thing on Israeli helicopters breaking the cease fire, do you ?

talk about double standards

[Dhalgren]

2. You are right, this is a farce.

And It will take someone of Chirac's stature to expose it and remedy it...if it can be remedied...

[endarkenment]

4. Don't disagree with your main point but

it isn't likely that UNIFIL is going to be attacked by Hezbollah. Of course if they repeat the mistakes of the peacekeeping force from the early 80s and choose sides in a rekindled Lebanese civil war (which conflict I suspect would be a plan under consideration in Jerusalem and Washington to try and salvage their goals of conflict widening in the mid east) then they could become a target from the spurned faction. If the pattern of UNIFIL's recent history is repeated they will be attacked (by what will be claimed to be a mistake of course) by IDF forces every now and then.

[Stockholm]

5. Kick

This means a lot of countries that stood on the side line wating for clarification won´t be offering any troops.