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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| UNIFIL on its way to disintegrating w/ Polish pullout |
| 2009-04-12 |
| The United Nations force in southern Lebanon is on its way to "disintegrating," senior defense officials warned on Saturday, after Poland announced it was withdrawing its troops from the peacekeeping force. Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich announced on Friday during a visit to Lebanon that the 500 Polish soldiers currently assigned to UNIFIL would return home by the end of the year. "Poland is more and more involved in NATO and EU missions. Thus we are returning from UN missions," Klich said, adding that "they ceased to play such an important role for the security of Poland as it has been the case in the past." Last week, The Jerusalem Post reported on Israeli concerns that US pressure on European countries to expand their contribution to the NATO war in Afghanistan could lead these countries to downsize their UNIFIL contingents in southern Lebanon. |
| Posted by:lotp |
| #6 Thank you, Anonymoose. Your argument now makes a great deal of sense to me. |
| Posted by: trailing wife in Buffalo 2009-04-12 19:48 |
| #5 Oh, I'm sure the Iraqis have no great love for Israel, but this would be a national prestige assignment. The issue here really isn't Israel, but Sunni and Shiite, with a healthy dollop of Christian. In essence, what they left back home. The situation they would be put in could be very carefully crafted, so that Iraqi Kurdish Peshmurga, who get along fairly well with Israelis, would be on the border proper. This might even result with some mutual diplomacy between the Israelis and the Kurds, which would be a good thing. This would leave the Iraqi Shiite and Sunni to essentially take over the job of Hizbollah, being non-threatening to the Shiite Lebanese, while their Sunnis would reassure both the Sunni Lebanese and the Sunni powers that Lebanon wasn't going to be converted to a Shiite nation. The Hizbollah would be on the outs, as would support for Hamas, and the Syrian Alawite Shiites would be wary of the the threat posed by their own Sunni majority. Ironically, it might work very well, with the big losers being Iran and Syria. A more stable Lebanon would be the big winner. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-04-12 19:22 |
| #4 Pancho Unusock2445 Whoops! Lost my cookie for a moment. |
| Posted by: trailing wife in Buffalo 2009-04-12 19:07 |
| #3 The problem, Anonymoose, is that the Iraqis are not necessarily any fonder of Israel than the rest of the Muslim Middle East; Israel therefore cannot assume increased security as a result of Iraqi quashing of Hizb'allah nonsense. |
| Posted by: Pancho Unusock2445 2009-04-12 19:06 |
| #2 An excellent opportunity for UNIFIL to be replaced by a few of the more orderly, mixed Iraqi divisions. Undoubtedly, Hizbollah would try it on against them, and the Iraqis would kick seven bells out of Hizbollah. The Iraqis would demilitarize the heck out of southern Lebanon, and they know how. And the Lebanese Shiites would feel very safe with them instead of Hizbollah. The Syrians wouldn't dare mess with the Iraqis. And even the Israelis would be sweetness and light to them. By just being there, it would put a serious damper on Hamas as well. Egypt would be happier with less Iranian influence on their doorstep. This is just the gift that keeps on giving. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-04-12 13:40 |
| #1 Less human shields for Hizbullah. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-04-12 06:22 |