| Submit your comments on this article |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| UNIFIL finds Hezbollah arms; gunmen scatter peacekeepers |
| 2008-04-22 |
| Armed Hezbollah militants warded off members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) last month when the peacekeepers discovered a truck carrying weapons and ammunition belonging to the Lebanon-based guerilla group. The incident was referred to briefly in a semi-yearly report submitted to the UN Security Council by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The incident was the first time that UNIFIL forces were confronted by armed Hezbollah men south of Lebanon's Litani River, an area which Security Council resolution 1701 prohibits Hezbollah from entering. According to a government source in Jerusalem, the incident caused great embarrassment for UNIFIL. The source described the incident, explaining that UNIFIL troops on patrol discovered the truck and chased it down and pulled it over. When the UNIFIL troops approached the vehicle, the source said, armed Hezbollah men exited the truck and threatened the troops at gunpoint. The UNIFIL patrol then went back into their cars, according to the source, and returned to their base. Our work is done here, Tonto. Adios... The report submitted to the Security Council said the incident occurred on the night between the 30 and 31 of March. "This serious violation of the UN resolution raises concerns," the report said. ...and that'll be about it. The incident was not reported in the media at the time of its occurrence. Nuthin to see here... Israeli security officials believe that Hezbollah forces are usually found in areas where the organization enjoys centralized civilian support. There are many areas that answer to that description in south Lebanon because most of the residents in the south of the country are Shiite Muslims, who support Hezbollah. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #11 Either that, or your channeling Joe! |
| Posted by: BA 2008-04-22 22:18 |
| #10 no, reaaalllly? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-04-22 21:01 |
| #9 if anyone is asyrprised tget asgol vbe agoyght ub tge gead sorrry i'm dunk |
| Posted by: sinse 2008-04-22 20:54 |
| #8 At least the screen door on the submarine keeps the fish out, Golf. So it's a lot more useful than the Useless Nitwits. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-04-22 20:13 |
| #7 As the Israeli's like to say the "United Nothing" is about as effective as a screen door on a submarine. |
| Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2008-04-22 19:06 |
| #6 It's a no-win situation. UNIFL ROE doesn't allow for armed confrontation. AK-47s against UN sidearms isn't an even match. Anyone care to guess how fast UN backup would arrive? (hint: it's either 'too late' or 'never') And 'big surprise' that the UN buried the report. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-04-22 17:42 |
| #5 Why make changes? UNIFIL caught Hezbollah in an area where they weren't supposed to be, with weapons and ammunition they weren't supposed to have. UNIFIL then returned to their base and filed a report, which was buried among the thousands of others and ignored. |
| Posted by: Rambler in California 2008-04-22 17:26 |
| #4 Looks like the blind squirrel just found an acorn. Better make some procedural changes to ensure that doesn't happen again! |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-04-22 17:13 |
| #3 Our work is done here, Tonto. Adios... Our HEROES!!! |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-04-22 15:41 |
| #2 They are the designated human shields in case of Israeli retaliation. That's the way UNIFIL was designed. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-04-22 15:08 |
| #1 "Run away! Run away!" OTHO, it sucks being unfil in lebanon, they're basically living targets living in the shadow of the hizbollah, ready to scatter away pronto if/when round II starts over. What would those mighty peacekeeper have done, have a shootout with the gunmen? Even if they won it, this would have been an huge NO-NO from the "international community" point of view, and they would have been thumped heavily by their hierarchy, and targeted by terror attacks from the noxw on-the-warpath hizbollah. They simply can't do a thing, just like the blue helmets who spent years being less than useless at the leb border. |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2008-04-22 14:53 |