Lebanon won't accept UNIFIL troops from countries with military ties to Israel, says President Lahoud.
And Israel won't accept UNIFIL troops from countries that don't recognize its existence.
Hmmm. Let's delve deeper. President Lahoud went on to explain:
"We want Unifil to be for all Lebanese, as is the Lebanese army and national resistance [Hezbollah]," he said.
I think what he meant to say was something more like "We want Unifil to be all for the Lebanese (as defined by Hezbollah and its constituents)" -- 'cause we all know that Hezbollah is not for all the Lebanese, or even a majority of the Lebanese. But never mind.
Mark Regev explained the Israeli Foreign Ministry position:
"Israel believes that it's best that we have the ability to be able to communicate with the international forces," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. "As a practical matter, we would have a problem if the international forces don't have the ability to talk to us."
Recap: Lahoud demands a UN force that is predisposed to side with Hezbollah in any conflict. Israel wants a UN force it can talk to. I think we're clear.
The French, who of course painted themselves as the go-to guys in the whole cease-fire debacle, are suddenly shy about providing the manpower to back up zeir zilly zuggestions. Quelle surprise! So finding candidates to fill the rather sizable gap isn't going to be so easy. But, hey, the UN is on the job:
The United Nations has been seeking a balance of Jewish, Christian and Muslim troops so that Israel and Lebanon will view the force as legitimate.
Ok, so I didn't have you fooled for even a second there, did I? It is the UN, after all. The real quote:
The United Nations has been seeking a balance of European and Muslim troops so that Israel and Lebanon will view the force as legitimate.
The "balance" here is somehow escaping me. How about you?
