Difficulties in building multinational force

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Written by tush

Mission of forming multinational force to help Lebanese army, come between IDF, Hizbullah apparently facing difficulties; France says it will only send 400 troops, Germany says it won't send any troops, other countries in no rush. In meeting held at UN on Thursday night, countries pressured to immediately send force

Following Security Council Resolution 1701 and the commitment to form a multinational force that will consist of thousands of soldiers, it appeared Thursday night that the mission was about to be extremely difficult.

The representatives of about 40 countries which have shown a certain interest in sending soldiers to the multinational force met in Ney York Thursday night.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown stressed that the force would be well-equipped but not offensive. He called on the countries to immediately send their forces. Another meeting is expected to be held at the United Nations on Monday.

According to Malloch, it would be a strong and well-equipped force with the authority to operate in the desired way in the necessary places. He added that the force was aimed at helping the Lebanese army safeguard the security of its borders.

UNIFIL will operate to reach a state of calm in the area while an effort is being made to find a long-term political solution for the problems. The way to solve the problem in the area is diplomatic rather than military, he said.

In a meeting held between Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the officials spoke about a force of 3,500 to 5,000 soldiers led by French troops, who were slated to arrive within about 10 days to southern Lebanon .

The force was meant to help the Lebanese government impose its sovereignty on the territory and impose an arms embargo which will prevent the smuggling of weapons to Hizbullah .

France refused to send a NATO force in which the United States has a commanding post, and this is the reason, according to sources in Washington, that it rushed to present its candidacy to head a multinational force.

Now the French are hesitating whether to send forces to Lebanon. French President Jacques Chirac announced that he would only send 400 soldiers to southern Lebanon and German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that she would not send any troops.

Italy, Spain and other countries expressed an interest in sending forces, but have yet to commit to do so. Muslim countries, such as Turkey, Malaysia and others, expressed their interest in sending forces to southern Lebanon, but it is difficult to assume that Israel would agree to the presence of a multinational force comprised mainly of Muslims.

In an effort to save the situation, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke to French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy. A State Department spokesman said the he expected that after the meeting at the UN headquarters, the contribution of each country to the international community's effort would be clearer.

Reserve soldiers return home

While the multinational force is being built and the Lebanese army is deploying, the Israel Defense Forces continues to decrease its forces. More than one-third of the territory which IDF forces occupied in southern Lebanon was handed over to UNIFIL members in the past 24 hours.

In the coming days, Lebanese soldiers who are still north of the Litani River are expected to take up some of these territories.

The IDF's reserve soldiers have already left the territory, and most of them held summarizing talks on Thursday and were released. Only few remain on the border, prepared for the event of an unexpected incident.

Inside Lebanon there are still many forces from the Paratroopers, Nahal and Golani brigades and armor forces. All the forces are a few kilometers away from the border. IDF officials estimated that the last Israeli soldier will leave Lebanon's territory next week.

Another quiet day was noted in southern Lebanon Thursday. The naval blockade on the country continued, with Navy missile ships patrolling the area and preventing the movement of suspicious vessels.

A senior Navy officer told Ynet: "Equipment of humanitarian aid is being transferred to Lebanon following an IDF examination. The naval blockade has a key role in the pressure on the Lebanese army, and we have seen that it is effective and contributes to the overall move."

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