 | It's going to work every bit as well as the last Mideast peace deal, I just know it. |
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Friday that calls for an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, and authorizes the deployment of 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to help Lebanese troops take control of south Lebanon as Israel withdraws.
| Read on, and you'll see how dumb this is ... |
The draft, which had been proposed by the United States and France, offers the best chance yet for peace after more than four weeks of significant bloodshed.
| There's the first lie ... |
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert endorsed the resolution late Friday, after a day of dramatic day brinksmanship including a threat to expand the ground war in Lebanon. But Israeli officials said Israel would not halt fighting until Israel's Cabinet has approved the cease-fire deal in its weekly meeting Sunday.
| At which time Olmert just might be deposed as PM. |
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora also assured Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that his country backed the resolution, a U.S. official said.
Despite Lebanese objections, Israel will be allowed to continue defensive operations, and a dispute over the Chebaa Farms area along the Syria-Lebanon-Israel border will be left for later. Israel won't get its wish for an entirely new multinational force separate from the U.N. peacekeepers that have been stationed in south Lebanon since 1978.
| The short story: nothing changes, except the Hezbies will be seen in the Arab world as having stood their ground. |
There is also no call for the release of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel or a demand for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops. Although the draft resolution emphasizes the need for the "unconditional release" of the two Israeli soldiers whose July 12 capture by Hezbollah sparked the conflict, that call is not included in the list of steps required for a lasting cease-fire.
| So the Israelis don't get what they went after at the start: no clear containment of the Hezbies, and no soldiers returned. |
 At the heart of the resolution are two elements: It seeks an immediate halt to the fighting that began July 12 when Hezbollah militants kidnapped two Israeli troops along the Blue Line, the U.N.-demarcated border separating Israel; and it spells out a series of steps that would lead to a permanent cease-fire and long-term solution.
Oh boy, a roadkillmap! And we all know how good Arab terrorists are at following roadmaps for peace. |
That would be done by creating a new buffer zone in south Lebanon "free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the government of Lebanon and UNIFIL." The force now has 2,000 troops; the resolution would expand it to a maximum of 15,000. Under the resolution, UNIFIL would be significantly beefed up to help coordinate when 15,000 Lebanese troops deploy to the region. As Lebanese forces take control of the south, Israeli troops would withdraw.
The Leb troops are thoroughly infiltrated by the Hezbies so it isn't clear who will control what. | And I suspect UNIFIL will continued to be composed of Brazilians, Bangeladeshis and the Mighty Uruguyans™. |
A senior U.S. official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. and France envision a 10-day timeframe between the moment a halt to the hostilities is declared and the moment UNIFIL troops go into action in the south.
| They can't be serious. There is no way you can give the Hezbies ten days to improve their situation and then expect UNIFIL to move them out of the way. The Hezbies will have every incentive to take pot shots at the Israelis and at UNIFIL in that time. |
The draft asks Annan to come up with proposals within 30 days on resolving various border disputes including the one over Chebaa Farms. Lebanon had wanted a direct demand in the draft that Chebaa Farms be put under U.N. control.
| Which means the UN now has retreated on Chebaa, having formerly noted, correctly, that it was part of Syria all these years. Nice going, Dr. Rice. |
| "Everyone back in the Peace Processor™!" |
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