UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The United States and France ran into strong opposition from Lebanon and the Arab world Sunday in their drive for speedy adoption of a U.N. resolution aimed at ending the escalating Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, primarily over the withdrawal of Israeli troops. Washington and Paris had hoped to put the draft in final form for a Security Council vote Monday. But they delayed action after Lebanon and Qatar, the council's only Arab member, proposed many amendments to the U.S.-French draft resolution - first and foremost demanding Israel pull its forces out of Lebanon once hostilities end. The council was scheduled to meet Monday morning when the U.S. and France are likely to present a revised text, taking into account some of the Arab concerns, with a view to a possible Security Council vote on Tuesday, council diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations have been closed. ``The most important thing for us is to obtain the agreement of the Lebanese government (and) the Arab world,'' France's Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said on France-Info radio. The flurry of U.N. meetings involving Security Council experts and the five veto-wielding council nations was accompanied by phone calls between key leaders trying to end 3 weeks of combat that have killed more than 600 on both sides, forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes, and left Lebanon in tatters.
Washington and Paris had hoped to put the draft in final form for a Security Council vote Monday. But they delayed action after Lebanon and Qatar, the council's only Arab member, proposed many amendments to the U.S.-French draft resolution - first and foremost demanding Israel pull its forces out of Lebanon once hostilities end.
The council was scheduled to meet Monday morning when the U.S. and France are likely to present a revised text, taking into account some of the Arab concerns, with a view to a possible Security Council vote on Tuesday, council diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations have been closed.
``The most important thing for us is to obtain the agreement of the Lebanese government (and) the Arab world,'' France's Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said on France-Info radio.
The flurry of U.N. meetings involving Security Council experts and the five veto-wielding council nations was accompanied by phone calls between key leaders trying to end 3 weeks of combat that have killed more than 600 on both sides, forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes, and left Lebanon in tatters.
Lebanon's parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, a Shiite Muslim who has negotiated on behalf of Hezbollah, said a draft United Nations resolution - a compromise reached Saturday by U.S. and French diplomats - also ignores other Lebanese demands. Among them, he said, are the release of prisoners held by Israel and the resolution of a disputed piece of border territory. "Lebanon, and all of Lebanon, rejects any resolution that is outside" these demands, Berri said.
"Lebanon, and all of Lebanon, rejects any resolution that is outside" these demands, Berri said.
(BTW, Berri negotiated on behalf of Hezbollah? He is boss of Amal, and likely negotiated on behalf of Lebanon.) *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
Mohamed Shatah, senior adviser to the Lebanese prime minister, said Lebanese officials were engaged in an "around-the-clock" effort to persuade U.N. Security Council members to address their concerns before the council votes on the resolution, which could come Monday or Tuesday. Shatah said a major concern is that the resolution, which calls for a "full cessation of hostilities," requires Israel to drop all offensive [my emphasis - DoDo] military actions - implicitly permitting actions in its own defense. Throughout the current conflict, Israel has claimed it acted in self-defense after Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers on July 12. "Defensive action appears to be a description of everything that Israel does," Shatah said.
Shatah said a major concern is that the resolution, which calls for a "full cessation of hostilities," requires Israel to drop all offensive [my emphasis - DoDo] military actions - implicitly permitting actions in its own defense. Throughout the current conflict, Israel has claimed it acted in self-defense after Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers on July 12.
"Defensive action appears to be a description of everything that Israel does," Shatah said.
My question is: what were the French diplomats thinking? What do they think France can gain from the US from a joint UN SSC Resolution that will be rejected in advance and won't be adhered to? *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
Douste-Blazy is a sick joke, and half of what he says must be "clarified" In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
We have met the enemy, and it is us. Nothing is 'mere'. — Richard P. Feynman
And French authorities have never cared about human rights anyway, so renditions, torture and the like are unlikely to be an issue. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
