Thursday, August 17, 2006

My kingdom for a force

EDB of Anecdotes from a Banana Republic details issues with the present contenders for a UN force in Lebanon:
Will the international force to implement UN Resolution 11,798,701 materialize?

Here are some problems I foresee with the current pool of applicants for the new and improved "coalition of the willing":

Turkey: Lebanon is home to the largest Armenian diaspora community in the world. They don't want Turkish troops in their midst, and for good reason.
Potential for lasting peace: Bad. Armenians might take up arms. MORE
The Guardian:
The UN is to hold an emergency meeting today of 45 countries that have offered troops for a 13,000-strong Lebanon peacekeeping mission, to confirm contributions and speed up deployment.
Amid confusion over deployment, the Israeli army is threatening to stall the withdrawal of its forces from southern Lebanon until the UN force is in place. Dan Halutz, Israel's chief of staff, said yesterday his troops would stop withdrawing unless the Lebanese army began to deploy within days, and his troops could remain in southern Lebanon until a multinational force was deployed. He said on Tuesday, as Israeli troops began to withdraw, that they could be out in 10 days.

There have been conflicting opinions among potential contributors about the speed of the UN deployment, ranging from days to months. Hedi Annabi, assistant UN secretary general for peacekeeping, said yesterday the UN hoped an initial contingent of 3,500 could be deployed in 10-15 days.

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