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by Richard Lyon Israel has proposed a NATO peace keeping force for Southern Lebanon. The proposal was greeted enthusiastically by John Bolton at the UN. It appears however, that this proposal was made without consultation with the European governments that would have to supply the troops. Israeli bid a surprise to NATO
With NATO straining to fulfill its commitment in Afghanistan and facing new demands from the United Nations to send troops to Sudan, Israel's proposal that NATO provide a buffer zone along the Israeli-Lebanese border surprised members of the alliance Sunday. Amir Peretz, the Israeli defense minister, told the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, that Israel would welcome a NATO force, saying that the Lebanese Army was too weak to do the job. Diplomats said it was also a clear signal to the UN that its force in the area was of limited importance since it had failed to disarm Hezbollah fighters or protect the border since Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000. At NATO headquarters in Brussels, there was a measured official response to the Israeli request. "There has been no political discussion about the alliance's role in the crisis," said the NATO spokesman, James Appathurai. Unofficially, Peretz's request caught NATO by surprise. Its secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, spoke last week with his UN counterpart, Kofi Annan, about the increasing violence in the Middle East, and there was no mention about what kind of role NATO could play, if any. "We got the distinct impression that the UN would be prepared to adapt its mandate, making it more robust," said a NATO diplomat who insisted on anonymity because the issue was so sensitive among all 26 member nations. "We wonder why Peretz raised the idea now."
The United States has already responded favorably to the request. John Bolton, the American ambassador to the United Nations, said Israel's request would be taken seriously It appears that France is getting a bit concerned about NATO mission creep.
France, which historically has had close ties with Lebanon, would oppose NATO assuming a big role in that part of the Middle East, NATO officials said. France had opposed, but failed to stop, NATO from expanding "out of area" beyond its traditional base of Europe to Afghanistan in 2002, in Sudan, where the alliance is involved in airlift operations, and in Iraq, where it is training military officers.
France sees those developments as turning NATO into a toolbox for the Americans at the expense of preserving some European identity of the alliance. Hmmmm? Would somebody pass the freedom fries. Germany of course has its own "special relationship" with Israel.
Germany, too, would be reluctant to join the force because of its special relationship with Israel as a result of the Holocaust. When asked about Germany joining such a NATO mission, Chancellor Angela Merkel replied: "At the moment, it is not on the agenda." In an interview with a German public television channel, ZDF, Merkel said it was in Germany's interests to strengthen the government of Lebanon and that meant disarming Hezbollah.
"The government in Beirut needs help," she said. There have already been protest from Arab/Islamic spokesmen over a NATO presence in Lebanon.
Another issue facing NATO would be its image. According to an alliance official, a NATO-led force would be considered American, not European, even though Bolton said the Bush administration had not considered contributing U.S. troops to such an international force.
It probably would be commanded by a U.S. general, fueling Arab suspicion that it was pro-Israeli. Here's my theory. Israel and the US probably know that the NATO proposal is a non-starter. By making it they are attempting to put the monkey on the back of the Europeans who are criticizing their invasion.
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NATO In Lebanon - Serious possibility or red herring? | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
NATO In Lebanon - Serious possibility or red herring? | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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