France Sets Big Force for Lebanon: "PARIS, Aug. 24 -- French President Jacques Chirac said Thursday that France would commit 2,000 troops to a new international peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.
The decision breaks a stalemate that has held up the dispatch of soldiers seen by diplomats as crucial to maintaining the 11-day-old cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel.Chirac's announcement in a nationally televised address followed days of intense negotiations with the United Nations, Lebanon and Israel over European concerns that the force would have no clear mandate and inadequate rights to open fire in defense of itself or civilians." full story
Europe Will Provide Half of Peacekeepers!!
Oh Boy, those terrorists from Hezbollah are shaking in their boots now. First France pats itself on the back for supplying what it originally said it would in the first place, a group smaller than the security forces needed for any Sunday NFL football game. Now the United Nations flexes it's muscles twisting the arms of a few more European nations to squeeze out a few thousand more.
And these are the people that John Kerry and friends wanted to consult with and work with for help in Iraq. The Democrats made endless fun of the coalition of the willing, what do you call this hogan's hero's contigency, the coalition of the unwilling? You can't even get the Europeans to even defend their own backyards against terrorism for goodness sakes.
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday that Europe had agreed to provide the "backbone" of a peacekeeping force for Lebanon, providing nearly half of a 15,000-member contingent.
European officials said it would take up to three months to get all the troops on the ground.
Speaking after an emergency meeting of European foreign ministers, Annan also said has "firm commitments" from Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh, and was consulting with Turkey about joining the peacekeeping force.
Israel has said it would oppose the deployment of troops from Muslim nations with which it does not have diplomatic ties, saying their inclusion would make it impossible for Israel to share vital intelligence information with the U.N. force.
"Europe is providing the backbone of the force," Annan said. "We can now begin to put together a credible force."
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