U.S. urges quick U.N. action in Lebanon
Published 9:00 pm Monday, August 21, 2006
UNITED NATIONS – The United States called Monday for the quick deployment of an expanded U.N. force in southern Lebanon and said a new U.N. resolution may be needed later to focus on disarming Hezbollah militants and enforcing an arms embargo.
Italy offered to replace France as head of the force after Paris disappointed top U.N. and U.S. officials by making only a small pledge of 400 troops. By contrast, Italy has indicated it would be prepared to send 3,000 soldiers. If Rome follows through, other European countries might be more willing to commit troops, as the U.S. has been urging.
Noting the fragility of the Israeli-Hezbollah cease-fire, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton made clear that the top priority for the United States is to get an additional 3,500 soldiers on the ground by Monday and then quickly increase the force to 15,000 troops, joining an equal number of Lebanese troops.
But he said the issue of disarming Hezbollah, key to establishing lasting peace between Lebanon and Israel, will likely have to be addressed “in due course” in a new resolution.
Hezbollah is already required to disarm under a September 2004 U.N. resolution, and council diplomats are certain to look carefully at exactly what a new resolution would do. If it authorizes the U.N. to use force to disarm the guerrillas, there would likely be strong opposition from those who believe that disarmament should be carried out only as a result of an agreement between Hezbollah and the Lebanese government.
While several Muslim nations have pledged troops to the new force, there have been no major pledges from European countries. The U.S. wants broad European participation to ensure that the U.N. contingent is balanced and broadly acceptable to both the Israelis and Lebanese.
The European Union’s Peace and Security Committee added the issue of contributions to the force, known as UNIFIL, to its agenda on Wednesday. But one European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, cautioned against any major new announcements.
French President Jacques Chirac, wary of getting involved without a clear U.N. mandate to use firepower if necessary, announced last week that France would immediately add just 200 combat engineers to its 200 troops already serving in UNIFIL.
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said Monday he told U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan that Italy is willing to command the U.N. force. “It is a decision that Kofi Annan will take at the end of broad consultations,” Prodi said, according to the Italian news agencies ANSA and Apcom.
