Diplomacy should be mobilized in order to pass Resolution 1701 and in order to be abided by all countries, by all cabinets who are interested in it.
Philippe Douste-Blazy,
French government paperweight
PARIS August 15, 2006 (FNA)
Huh?
With this and such like mumbo-jumbo M. Douste-Blazy has flitted about the Levant the past several weeks promoting a French-inspired UN resolution.
It has always struck us as odd, the hurry-up for UN peacekeepers before a war has been fought to a conclusion or before there is so much as a sketch of an agreement between the contested parties. What peace is there to be kept? The UN has an almost unbroken record of failed interventions. UNIFIL (see footnote) has been sitting on the Lebanese border for twenty-some-odd years without keeping any peace. These UN missions are notoriously ineffective. And more notoriously notorious -- for collusion and crimes against the locals.
But France was all hurry-up, vigorously pursuing a strategy of "cease-fire first, sort-out later", or as M. Douste-Blazy might put it, "Action now, not thinking."
FRANCE TRIES TO FORCE CEASEFIRE IN LEBANON
BEIRUT July 31, 2006 (AFP)
UN DEAL GIVES FRENCH A BOOST
PARIS August 7, 2006 (Telegraph)
France huddled with America but when the resulting draft called for "a full cessation of hostilities" not a cease-fire and did not explicitedly require immediate Israeli withdrawal, Lebanon and the Arabs balked and France, the champion of Lebanon, got busy rewriting.
FRANCE THREATENS TO GO IT ALONE ON MIDDLE EAST
August 10, 2006 (NYSun)
To keep America on board, France wrote in a large multinational force, which was understood to be mostly European, mostly French, and largely provisioned and led by France. Other than the cease-fire and the multinational force, slapdashed UNSCR 1701 is very much like the toothless UNSCR 1559 in force while Hizballah had its way in Lebanon. But with France you just cannot have enough of these UN resolutions.[No] one talks anymore of a multinational force since the Lebanese Army has decided to deploy 15,000 men in southern Lebanon. That is an important political point. And then no one talks anymore of a force that will be given an offensive mandate to disarm Hezbollah. These are two new elements. They were the red lines for us. We are in agreement about the objective: the disarmament [of Hezbollah], but for us the means are purely political. That is a French specificity.
Philippe Douste-Blazy,
The dimmest bulb in the dark Chirac marquee™
August 13, 2006 (Trans-Int/Pave)
Alas, when France waved the magic UNSCR at Lebanon, the magic did not take.
FRANCE TO LEAD BEEFED-UP UN FORCE IN LEBANON
PARIS August 14, 2006 (AFP) - Under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, unanimously adopted Friday, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is to swell from its current 1,990-strong force to 15,000 international troops. ... French President Jacques Chirac, whose country drafted the UN resolution with the United States, has said France will assume its responsibilities, "particularly concerning the new UNIFIL force."The defence ministry has said it is "too early" to put a figure to France's troop contribution, although press reports have spoken of several thousand [NB]. One French official, speaking anonymously, said 4,000 "seems a feasible number," [NB] while a military source said the actual number of French soldiers in Lebanon would likely be around 2,500 [NB].
FRANCE INSISTS THAT HIZBOLLAH DISARM
AHEAD OF TROOP MOVE
PARIS/LONDON/JERUSALEM August 16, 2006 (FT)
LEBANON: HIZBULLAH REJECTS CALLS TO DISARM
AS FRANCE URGES ISRAEL TO LIFT BLOCKADE
August 16, 2006 (Al Bawaba)
FRANCE UNEASY ABOUT MANDATE
August 16, 2006 (BBC)
LEBANESE TROOPS WILL NOT DISARM HIZBOLLAH
JERUSALEM August 17, 2006 (Telegraph)
FRANCE COMMITS 200 TROOPS TO UN LEBANON FORCE
PARIS August 17, 2006 (AFP) - France on Thursday said it would send 200 troops to reinforce the UN mission in Lebanon, far less than the UN expected for its planned 15,000-strong enlarged force, and called for safety guarantees for its soldiers before making further commitments.A senior US official said that French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy had spoken by telephone with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and had given no indication France was scaling back its commitment to the force.
Yes, that's right, 200 additional troops. Not thousands. Not a thousand. A total of 400 troops. Less than 3% of the envisioned 15,000 force. Though France still sees her way clear to boss the troops.I can’t let it be said or implied that France is not doing its duty in the Lebanese crisis.
Michèle Alliot-Marie,
Former dimmest bulb in the dark Chirac marquee™
Last week (Angus Reid)
FRANCE DECLINES TO CONTRIBUTE MAJOR FORCE FOR U.N. MISSION
UNITED NATIONS August 17, 2006 (WaPo) - France on Thursday rebuffed pleas by U.N. officials to make a major contribution to a peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, setting back efforts to deploy an international military force to help police a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, according to U.N. and French officials. ... U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan called Chirac on Thursday to plead with him to reconsider. The French president's office released a statement later indicating he had not yielded. ... Diplomats said France had done little before Thursday to dampen expectations that it would play a far more ambitious peacekeeping role.
ITALY TO SEND 3,000 TROOPS TO LEBANON
August 18, 2006 (Guardian) - "This is a new phase of Italian foreign policy, a phase of responsibility and credibility with a shared aim of helping the construction of peace in one of the most complicated regions of the world," Mr Prodi said. ... Bangladesh* has pledged up to 2,000 troops, and Malaysia* has also promised up to 1,000. Smaller or less certain offers are being examined by up to 22 other countries. Unity behind the force has been badly damaged after France yesterday said it would contribute only 200 soldiers.
* Does not recognize right to exist for Israel.
BUSH SAYS HE HOPES FRANCE WILL SEND MORE TROOPS
CAMP DAVID, MD August 18, 2006 (Reuters)
UN DEPLOYMENT IN TROUBLE AFTER FRANCE GETS COLD FEET
WASHINGTON August 18, 2006 (CanWest)
EUROPEAN PRESS ACCUSES FRANCE OF LOSING ITS NERVE
BRUSSELS August 18, 2006 (AFP) - "France has relaxed the pressure at a vital moment," The Times of London said, accusing Paris in an editorial of backing down from earlier indications that it was ready to play the leading role in the enlarged UN force. "For France to have retreated from a key role to the realm of 'symbolic' gestures 'symbolises' only one thing: a French loss of nerve," it said after having previously praised French efforts to find a solution to the crisis. ... Italian newspaper La Repubblica, said France had discovered "that it was afraid" while La Stampa said that Paris and Rome "fear another Bosnia".
August 20, 2006 (IHT/NYT) - If it weren't so dangerous, it would be tempting to laugh about France's paltry commitment of 200 additional peacekeepers for Lebanon. After insisting for years that they be treated like a superpower, the French are behaving like they have no responsibility for helping dig out of the Lebanon mess.When the Security Council agreed this month on a cease-fire resolution, scripted by the French and the Americans, it was with the clear understanding that Paris would head up the 15,000-member international force and contribute a large number of troops. Now President Jacques Chirac's generals have gotten cold feet. Such a condition is highly contagious. And there are serious concerns about whether the United Nations can field enough well-trained troops without the French to ensure that Israeli troops withdraw and Hezbollah's attacks on Israel do not start again.
At least part of the explanation for Paris's bait and switch is that Chirac is a politically unpopular lame duck, unable to keep his generals in line. But the French military command has also raised some legitimate concerns about the peacekeeping force's lack of a clear mission. Most notably the resolution (might we note again that the French helped write it?) sidesteps the question of who, if anyone, will disarm Hezbollah.
To recap, France rushes through a poorly thought out resolution while basking in headlines. When the resolution passes, France suddenly discovers the resolution is defective. France abandons her former urgency -- and Lebanon -- and begins to wring her hands and pace. Meanwhile the world moves on...
ITALY OFFERS TO LEAD UN LEBANON FORCE
August 22, 2006 (EUobserver)
Could anything be more humiliating than losing out to [Pause.] Italy? Again.
PFFT (What is this?): From champ to chump 5 | Rayonnement français 0
While Madame la France acts in such a poor and confused way, peace in Lebanon is slipping away each day more.
