Europeans Make Plans for Lebanon Force
"Lebanon / Syria"08/24/2006
PARIS (AP) - European leaders moved forward Thursday with plans for an international force in Lebanon, with an EU official saying it wants to see peacekeepers in place within a week and France preparing an announcement on troop commitments.
But key questions remained over how far Europe was willing to go to back up strong rhetoric on the need for peace with robust action.
France, Lebanon’s former colonial ruler, has cast itself as a driving force in efforts to build a lasting peace for the war-ravaged country - but disappointed the international community by promising only to double its 200-strong peacekeeping contingent.
President Jacques Chirac was scheduled announce later Thursday whether he is willing to contribute more troops, his office said after a Cabinet meeting. The newspaper Le Monde reported that France would likely send fewer than 2,000 more men.
EU foreign ministers are scheduled to meet Friday in Brussels to discuss the force. Pressure on the Europeans has grown because Israel has rejected offers of participation from Malaysia, Bangladesh and Indonesia - predominantly Muslim countries that do not recognize the Jewish state.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni urged the international community to act as quickly as possible to deploy a U.N. force to keep the peace in southern Lebanon.
“The extremists who want to inflame the region are watching us, and this will test the strength and determination of the international community,” Livni said following a meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema.
Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja indicated Thursday that the first reinforcements to a U.N. peacekeeping force could be imminent.
“We would like to see the first reinforcements for UNIFIL arrive within a week if possible,” Tuomioja said in Berlin. Finland holds the rotating European Union presidency.
History has much to do with the hesitancy of European powers to make clear troop commitments.
France lost a total of 71 soldiers during peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Belgium 10 in at the outset of the genocide in Rwanda a dozen years ago. France also lost 58 peacekeepers in the Oct. 23, 1983, Hezbollah attacks in Beirut that also killed 241 Americans.
Many European countries also have expressed qualms over committing troops without strong guidelines on when its soldiers would have the right to shoot and also defend themselves.
During this summer’s fighting, Paris presented itself as the natural leader to push for a cease-fire between Hezbollah militants and Israel - sending its prime minister and foreign minister to Lebanon to survey the devastation and make appeals for peace.
But France has shown reluctance to follow through on diplomatic efforts with strong - and potentially painful - action.
In the afternoon, Chirac was scheduled to meet Cabinet members including his defense and foreign ministers for special talks on the Middle East, government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope said. He offered no details on whether ministers had discussed UNIFIL at the regularly scheduled Cabinet meeting.
The peacekeeping force is expected to expand from about 2,000 to 15,000 as part of a new U.N. Security Council resolution. Italy said this week it is willing to command a U.N. force in Lebanon.
The resolution was designed to bolster the peacekeeping force to support some 15,000 Lebanese troops that have started moving into the southern region, which suffered more than a month of fighting between the Lebanese-based Hezbollah militia and Israeli troops.
French officials have left open the possibility they could contribute more peacekeepers. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who visited Lebanon during the fighting, said France wanted to expand its role in the force once details are worked out.
“We are today the most committed and most present country on the ground,” he said. “We want to go further once the conditions are right.”
Most EU nations remain wary of making firm commitments until the mandate for the new force is clarified, fearing that their peacekeepers could be dragged into a conflict with the Hezbollah militants or with Israel if the current cease-fire collapses.
Aside from France and Italy, other nations considering contributions include Spain, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Greece, and Belgium. Turkey, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand and China also are considering participating in the U.N. mission.