The extraordinary meeting Friday in Brussels ended with a success: the Europeans have pledged to provide approximately 7,000 men in the International Force of the United Nations to the Lebanon (UNIFIL), nearly half of the workforce desired by Kofi Annan. The Secretary-General of the United Nations has welcomed and praised "leadership" that were assumed in this case the Italy and the France, the two countries which will send more troops to Lebanon until, respectively, 3,000 and 2,000 men. The France will assume control of the force until February, and then will relay to the Italy.
Europe, that it was simply, in recent years, is a role of funder in the Middle East, therefore now seeking to exercise political influence. "This is the first time that Europe has a responsibility as strong in the region and we hope a turning point, not only for stabilization on the border between Israel and the Lebanon, but also to push for peace in the region," said the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Massimo D'Alema.
A "political union".
For its part, the French Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy found that "the EU is to prove that it becomes a political union". Paris justified its hesitations of the week last on the number of French soldiers made available by the need for well clarify the mandate of the reinforced UNIFIL and the terms under which the force will be allowed to respond to attacks. The expanded UNIFIL will have a single command, without the intervention of a civilian representative of the United Nations, whose decisions can contradict the choice of the military.
The most difficult is to come. A so-called "generator of troops" meeting between the contributing countries to be held today at the headquarters of the United Nations, New York, to define the roles of the various contingents. The Italy has announced that it would send men from tomorrow. The France has already deployed 200 men, in addition to the already included 200 in current UNIFIL. Others should come to here to about 20 days. But as Christina Gallach, spokesperson of the High Representative of the EU for foreign policy, Javier Solana, well need to "manage the force, whose mission is difficult in a complexissime region".
Kofi Annan to Beirut
In fact, according to a survey conducted by the English-language Lebanese daily newspaper "the daily Star", nearly two-thirds of Lebanese, all communities combined, say not to trust to UNIFIL to deter a future Israeli aggression. IDF is always present in the South Lebanon, waiting for international troops. The Hezbollah fighters, for their part, have not disarmed. Following the opposition of the Government of Lebanon, UNIFIL will not deploy to the Syrian border, contrary to the requirements of Israel, who suspected shipments of weapons to Hezbollah to be by this axis. Damascus had threatened to completely close its border if the force mailed. So that Europe plays big in the Lebanon. The lives of his men, and political credibility as an actor in the Middle East.
Today, Kofi Annan is expected in Beirut where he is to meet with Lebanese officials the deployment of UNIFIL and the securing of the Syrian border. He will also speak the efforts for the lifting of the air and sea blockade Israel places on the Lebanon since July 12.
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