OLMERT: U.N. FORCE USELESS

Olmert: No to International Force - Herb Keinon
Prime Minster Ehud Olmert said Tuesday that the idea of an international force in Lebanon was "a good headline," but that Israel's experience "shows that there is nothing behind it." "Today there is a multinational force in Lebanon, and we are seeing what they do....I think it is premature to talk about it."

Olmert said he did not rule out negotiations, as long as they are not held with Hizballah and are based on the principles of an unconditional release of the abducted Israeli solders, and UN Security Council Resolution 1559 that calls for a dismantling of Hizballah and an extension of the Lebanese government's sovereignty throughout the country. He added that the start of these negotiations would not end the military operation.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told a visiting UN delegation Tuesday that preventing Syria's resupply of arms to Hizballah, the total disarmament of that group, and a complete overhaul of the UN forces in south Lebanon were among Israel's requirements for a cease-fire. She said it was no longer enough to move Hizballah out of southern Lebanon since, given the range of Hizballah's missiles, "they can now fire from Beirut." (Jerusalem Post)

GEE, I WONDER WHY ISRAEL DOESN'T HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE U.N.?

Solana: No sufficient data to include Hizbullah in terror organizations' list (YNET)
The United Nations High Representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) Javier Solana said during a press conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni that the UN has no sufficient data to determine whether the Hizbullah can be included in the list of terror organizations. He also added that the issue at hand is legal, not ethical. (Ronny Sofer)

SEE ALSO: The ongoing killings in Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian areas could constitute war crimes, a U.N. official said. Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, cited the need to protect non-combatants under international law, which she said “defines war crimes and crimes against humanity.” The “scale of the killings in the region, and their predictability, could engage the personal criminal responsibility of those involved, particularly those in a position of command and control,” Reuters quoted Arbour as saying Wednesday in Geneva. (JTA)

Israeli suspicion of UN clouds Lebanon force plan.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli commander at the Lebanese border recalls peering through binoculars one afternoon to see U.N. peacekeepers sipping tea with Hizbollah guerrillas....

Relations between Israel and the United Nations plummeted after information emerged that U.N. peacekeepers on the Lebanon border suppressed video tapes of three soldiers being abducted by Hizbollah guerrillas in 2000. UNIFIL denied the charge, but the U.N. later admitted unintentionally concealing evidence from Israel.

“We know that they had line of sight and could see the actual kidnapping. They could have put roadblocks up to prevent Hizbollah from escaping. But they didn’t lift a finger,” said Dore Gold, former Israeli ambassador to the U.N.

It is unclear whether the three soldiers were killed at the time of the raid and their bodies taken away or whether they were captured and killed later. Israel initially assumed the three soldiers survived the attack and were seized by Hizbollah.

AS YOU CAN SEE, THE U.N. IS WORSE THAN USELESS. IT IS EVIL.