Regis Philbin
Aug 17th, 2006, 11:05 PM
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/8/17/70648.shtml?s=lh
France Wants Only 'Symbolic' Force in Lebanon
NewsMax.com Wires
Thursday, Aug. 17, 2006
UNITED NATIONS -- Countries that could contribute to an expanded U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon were to meet Thursday to find out how the troops will operate, and U.N. officials hoped many would commit soldiers to the force.
France, meanwhile, wants to send a small, purely symbolic contingent to the force, and the United Nations is trying to convince French officials that such a decision would be devastating, a news report said Thursday.
Though France has been widely expected to lead the force, the newspaper Le Monde reported that it planned to contribute merely 10 officers and 200 military engineers.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was expected to call President Jacques Chirac on Thursday to persuade France to make a larger commitment, Le Monde said, citing unidentified diplomatic sources.
A French Defense Ministry spokesman declined to comment on the report.
The U.N. resolution that led to Monday's cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah authorized up to 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to help 15,000 Lebanese troops extend their authority throughout south Lebanon, which Hezbollah controls.
The aim is to create a buffer zone free of Hezbollah fighters between Lebanon's Litani River and the U.N.-drawn border, about 20 miles to the south.
France Wants Only 'Symbolic' Force in Lebanon
NewsMax.com Wires
Thursday, Aug. 17, 2006
UNITED NATIONS -- Countries that could contribute to an expanded U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon were to meet Thursday to find out how the troops will operate, and U.N. officials hoped many would commit soldiers to the force.
France, meanwhile, wants to send a small, purely symbolic contingent to the force, and the United Nations is trying to convince French officials that such a decision would be devastating, a news report said Thursday.
Though France has been widely expected to lead the force, the newspaper Le Monde reported that it planned to contribute merely 10 officers and 200 military engineers.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was expected to call President Jacques Chirac on Thursday to persuade France to make a larger commitment, Le Monde said, citing unidentified diplomatic sources.
A French Defense Ministry spokesman declined to comment on the report.
The U.N. resolution that led to Monday's cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah authorized up to 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to help 15,000 Lebanese troops extend their authority throughout south Lebanon, which Hezbollah controls.
The aim is to create a buffer zone free of Hezbollah fighters between Lebanon's Litani River and the U.N.-drawn border, about 20 miles to the south.