.Israel Prepares To Resume Its War Against Hezbollah
JERUSALEM — Any chance of long-term peace between Lebanon and Israel all but vanished last night after the Israeli defense minister, Amir Peretz, said his country was preparing for another round of fighting.
Mr. Peretz spoke only hours after Israeli commandos mounted a raid deep inside Lebanon. Secretary-General Annan said it was a violation of the weekold U.N. cease-fire.
With talks on a beefed-up peacekeeping force for southern Lebanon apparently stalled, Mr. Annan's senior envoy for the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen, said there was a danger of the situation "sliding out of control." Mr. Peretz issued his warning during the weekly cabinet meeting when he was quoted as promising full transparency in the forthcoming internal inquiry into his government's handling of the 34-day conflict with Hezbollah.
"We will put everything on the table," he was quoted as saying. "Our duty is to prepare for the next round."
The head of the armed forces, Lieutenant General Dan Halutz, said the military had failed to land a "knockout blow" on the Shiite militia.
With Israeli reservists returning from south Lebanon with stories of incompetence by commanders, public opinion is hardening against Prime Minister Olmert.
Yesterday, wrangling over the makeup of the new peacekeeping force for south Lebanon intensified as France, stung by criticism of its modest contribution of just 200 troops, demanded a European Union summit to settle the matter.
U.N.officials scrambling to assemble the 15,000-strong force found their efforts further constricted when Israel rejected offers of peacekeepers from nations with which it does not have full diplomatic relations.
Israeli officials said Prime Minister Olmert had made his decision known at yesterday's meeting of the inner security cabinet.
That would rule out contributions from Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Malaysia, all of which had offered troops.
The offer of 1,000 soldiers and 150 engineers from Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic nation, was among the most generous received by the United Nations.
However, the country's defense minister, Juwono Sudarsono, said Saturday that it would be too sensitive for Indonesian troops to participate in the disarming of Hezbollah, Lebanon's Shiite militia.
The extraordinary E.U. meeting, called by France with the backing of Finland, the current European president, will be used by Paris to pressure other member nations into committing troops.The meeting, likely to take place on Wednesday, was announced after President Chirac of France spent part of the weekend in telephone consultations with the Secretary-General Annan and the leaders of other countries.
While Britain is under no pressure to send troops because of its already large military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, Paris is hoping that nations such as Ireland, Spain, and Belgium will promise to send troops. Italy has pledged 3,000 soldiers.
But with discussions still continuing at the United Nations about the rules of engagement of the force and its mandate, few nations are likely to want to commit large numbers of troops to a mission that could last many years. The last time the United Nations created a mission for Lebanon, it hoped its stay would be brief. It was called the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, and 28 years later, the force still exists and will form the basis of the new border contingent.
Foreign powers are unlikely to want to commit combat troops to a zone where both combatants have shown little hesitation when it comes to killing peacekeepers. Bombs planted by Shiite militants have killed U.N. forces in southern Lebanon, and during the recent 34-day conflict, Israel ignored repeated appeals for restraint by the U.N. when it killed four unarmed observers in an airstrike.
The French foreign minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, appealed for "European solidarity." He told Europe 1 radio that "the Spanish and I hope other Europeans will also urgently come up with contingents that will bring credibility to the Israeli withdrawal."
France already holds the command of Unifil and has about 200 troops in the current force of 2,000.
During diplomatic efforts to end the recent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, U.N. officials prepared to beef up the force to 15,000, and it was envisaged that France, the former colonial power in Lebanon, would provide the biggest share.
However, Paris committed only 200 additional troops. France was wary of the Bosnia example of the 1990s where it committed troops to a U.N. peacekeeping mission and watched helplessly as dozens of its soldiers were killed.
NYSun
He'd be a fool not to.
Mr. Peretz spoke only hours after Israeli commandos mounted a raid deep inside Lebanon. Secretary-General Annan said it was a violation of the weekold U.N. cease-fire.
With talks on a beefed-up peacekeeping force for southern Lebanon apparently stalled, Mr. Annan's senior envoy for the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen, said there was a danger of the situation "sliding out of control." Mr. Peretz issued his warning during the weekly cabinet meeting when he was quoted as promising full transparency in the forthcoming internal inquiry into his government's handling of the 34-day conflict with Hezbollah.
"We will put everything on the table," he was quoted as saying. "Our duty is to prepare for the next round."
The head of the armed forces, Lieutenant General Dan Halutz, said the military had failed to land a "knockout blow" on the Shiite militia.
With Israeli reservists returning from south Lebanon with stories of incompetence by commanders, public opinion is hardening against Prime Minister Olmert.
Yesterday, wrangling over the makeup of the new peacekeeping force for south Lebanon intensified as France, stung by criticism of its modest contribution of just 200 troops, demanded a European Union summit to settle the matter.
U.N.officials scrambling to assemble the 15,000-strong force found their efforts further constricted when Israel rejected offers of peacekeepers from nations with which it does not have full diplomatic relations.
Israeli officials said Prime Minister Olmert had made his decision known at yesterday's meeting of the inner security cabinet.
That would rule out contributions from Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Malaysia, all of which had offered troops.
The offer of 1,000 soldiers and 150 engineers from Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic nation, was among the most generous received by the United Nations.
However, the country's defense minister, Juwono Sudarsono, said Saturday that it would be too sensitive for Indonesian troops to participate in the disarming of Hezbollah, Lebanon's Shiite militia.
The extraordinary E.U. meeting, called by France with the backing of Finland, the current European president, will be used by Paris to pressure other member nations into committing troops.The meeting, likely to take place on Wednesday, was announced after President Chirac of France spent part of the weekend in telephone consultations with the Secretary-General Annan and the leaders of other countries.
While Britain is under no pressure to send troops because of its already large military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, Paris is hoping that nations such as Ireland, Spain, and Belgium will promise to send troops. Italy has pledged 3,000 soldiers.
But with discussions still continuing at the United Nations about the rules of engagement of the force and its mandate, few nations are likely to want to commit large numbers of troops to a mission that could last many years. The last time the United Nations created a mission for Lebanon, it hoped its stay would be brief. It was called the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, and 28 years later, the force still exists and will form the basis of the new border contingent.
Foreign powers are unlikely to want to commit combat troops to a zone where both combatants have shown little hesitation when it comes to killing peacekeepers. Bombs planted by Shiite militants have killed U.N. forces in southern Lebanon, and during the recent 34-day conflict, Israel ignored repeated appeals for restraint by the U.N. when it killed four unarmed observers in an airstrike.
The French foreign minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, appealed for "European solidarity." He told Europe 1 radio that "the Spanish and I hope other Europeans will also urgently come up with contingents that will bring credibility to the Israeli withdrawal."
France already holds the command of Unifil and has about 200 troops in the current force of 2,000.
During diplomatic efforts to end the recent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, U.N. officials prepared to beef up the force to 15,000, and it was envisaged that France, the former colonial power in Lebanon, would provide the biggest share.
However, Paris committed only 200 additional troops. France was wary of the Bosnia example of the 1990s where it committed troops to a U.N. peacekeeping mission and watched helplessly as dozens of its soldiers were killed.
NYSun
He'd be a fool not to.
posted by madtom at 1:14 AM
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