Want to hear something ridiculous? Peace in Lebanon is in the hands of the French. That's right, the country that can't decide if they really want to send troops is in charge of the operation.
So far, Italy is the only other European country to make a major commitment, offering to send as many as 3,000 troops and to command the force.But the direction of the expanded force appears to be in French hands. French and U.N. officials said French Maj. Gen. Alain Pelligrini will retain command of the U.N. mission until his term ends next February. U.N. officials said an Italian general will head a new military command center at U.N. headquarters to map out strategy for the operation.
The French military, with a long, emotional history in Lebanon and in other peacekeeping venues, was particularly wary of dispatching large numbers of troops into southern Lebanon, according to French officials and analysts. The French lost 58 troops in the same Hezbollah suicide bombings that killed 241 U.S. service members in Beirut in 1983. Eighty-four French troops in the U.N. mission in Bosnia were killed in the 1990s, in part because they were not allowed to defend themselves assertively.
"We've been there and saw what happened in '83," said Francois Heisbourg, a military analyst at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris. "The only difference between now and then is the situation is much worse now."
The situation is worse but the approach to solving it remains the same. They haven't hit the ground yet but already are looking for the US and Britain to come to the rescue.
Chirac said he hoped France's decision Thursday would spur other countries to join the force, including the United States and Britain. Both have said they are too taxed in Iraq and Afghanistan to take part.Posted by Xyba at August 25, 2006 08:04 AM | TrackBack