The Army That Only Goes Where It's Safe
"Before committing troops to the Lebanon ceasefire they championed at the United Nations, France wants safety guarantees.
I’m not making this up.
Despite expectations that France would provide the bulk of a planned 15,000 strong UN force, Paris said Thursday it would send 200 troops to reinforce the UN mission in Lebanon.
While it said France was prepared to command the enlarged force, it also called for safety guarantees for its soldiers before making further commitments.
UPDATE:
Another jawdropper from French defense minister Michele Alliot-Marie:
HeavyHanded: We can't have that now, can we?Alliot-Marie said troop contributions to the expanded UNIFIL force should come from a great number of countries, both in Europe and the Muslim world.
'What we must absolutely avoid is giving the image of a Western world imposing peace on the Muslim world,' she said."
posted by HeavyHanded at
6:39 PM
2 Comments:
The French have completely missed the fact that they are there to impose peace in a war zone, that is to enforce peace! Force by definition meets resistance and resistance in a war zone usually means casualties.
I know I'm stating the obvious here for most of the world, but the French don't get it. Here they are pushing for a resolution that they themselves have no understanding of what they ask.
By
ablur, at 7:22 AM
One suspects that this is what the French intended all along. They block every attempt to address any issue by means of which they are not integral then capitalize on their own recalcitrance by riding to the diplomatic rescue when such neglected events inevitably deteriorate, only to renig on their commitment to bring about a resolution they never really supported in the first place. In the end they boost their own worldly significance beyond actuality while allowing events to to take their own course. When it comes to the French, everything is all about France. I find the whole thing rather Clintonesque.
By
Anonymous, at 8:37 AM
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