UN FORCE IN LEBANON IS USELESS

UN Force Treading Lightly on Lebanese Soil - Michael Slackman
Members of the international force sent to help keep the peace in Lebanon say they cannot set up checkpoints, search cars, homes or businesses, or detain suspects. If they see a truck transporting missiles, they cannot stop it. Under their interpretation of the Security Council resolution that deployed them, they must first be authorized to take such action by the Lebanese Army. While there may have been some expectation that the international force would disarm or restrain Hizballah, or search for hidden weapons caches, the commanders on the ground say very clearly that those tasks are not their job for now.

In Israel, skepticism about the effectiveness of the enlarged UN force has always been high, particularly about disarming Hizballah or enforcing the arms embargo on it. Israel also notes that UNIFIL is barely 5,000 troops now, just 3,000 more than the old UNIFIL, still a long way from the 15,000 foreseen in the UN resolution. (New York Times)