The Italians have announced that they are/aren’t engaged in military action to disarm Hezbollah.
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said Thursday that a "political solution" should be found to disarm the militant group Hezbollah.
Italian Defense Minister Arturo Parisi said Thursday that Italian troops deployed in Lebanon as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force will be involved in a "military mission" and may have to use force.
France are just sending a token force to Lebanon, just enough to run the show without actually getting into the dirty end of the business.
French President Jacques Chirac assured U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan by phone that his government might yet send in more soldiers depending on the precise mission and rules of engagement, Chirac's office said.
Likewise Germany are sending customs officers and border guards. Germany pledged on Thursday to provide police, customs agents, aircraft and ships to a U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon to prevent arms from flowing into the country by land from Syria or by sea.
Germany's offer was contingent on parliamentary approval
A spokesman for Australia’s PM Howard said that he was busy at the moment, but Foreign Minister Downer was talkative. He said the Government was not enthusiastic about sending significant numbers of troops to join the stabilisation force.
"In fact, the best we could do would be to provide some kind of a niche capability," Downer said. "I think it's much less likely than likely that we will send any troops at all."
Maybe Australia can fill the catering niche, and they have great experience at repatriating bodies.
Diplomats told the U.N. meeting of dozens of potential troop contributing nations that they were studying sending forces.
Most countries are waiting for firm affirmation that the Americans won’t be there. One diplomat said, “It is bad enough exposing out troops to enemy fire. We don’t relish losing any to ‘friendly fire’!”
Russia is expected to make a commitment not to veto peace keeping efforts in Lebanon. But that commitment is said to be contingent on trade with Tehran.
Hezbollah seems to be the only player willing to make a firm commitment on fighting forces. Most analysts agree that they will be ‘off like a dirty shirt’ when it comes to a good battle engagement.
The recent successful met against Israel has ensured that they have an endless stream of recruits whose only disappointment will be coming off the field alive. For their part, that added commitment is bound to give whatever troops, who actually do show up, an exciting time.
Ah, if only it were a replay of the world cup, or a Parents and Freinds pot luck dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment