As an update to this issue, from Reuters: http://www.antiwrap.com/?1052
France pledges 1,600 more troops for Lebanon Thu Aug 24, 2006 2:27 PM ET By Alaa Shahine BEIRUT (Reuters) - France said on Thursday it was ready to send an extra 1,600 troops to bolster a revamped United Nations force for Lebanon, bringing the total French contingent to 2,000 and making it easier to recruit other nations. France initially offered only to double its force in Lebanon to 400, disappointing many United Nations' diplomats who had expected Paris to provide the backbone of the mission. However, President Jacques Chirac said France decided to dispatch many more troops after winning assurances from the U.N. that the troops would be able to defend themselves fully if they came under attack and could use force to protect civilians. "Two thousand French troops will thus be placed under the United Nations in Lebanon. France is ready, if the United Nations wishes, to continue commanding this force," Chirac said in a televised address. Italy, which had promised 2,000 to 3,000 troops, earlier said it had won U.S. blessing for its leadership of the force and that it was confident Europe, especially France, would firm up its so far limited military commitment. Prime Minister Romano Prodi said President George W. Bush had told him by telephone of his "positive" view of Italy's offer to lead the force. He added that Bush was also leaning on allies to offer troops. "I expect that reluctant or not, smiling or not, there will be an ample European contribution," Prodi said in an interview with Rai state radio. The United Nations says a strengthened U.N. force in south Lebanon is urgently needed to preserve the fragile truce which came into effect on August 14 after a month of fighting which killed more than 1,300 people, mostly Lebanese civilians. The force will help the Lebanese army control south Lebanon after the conflict between Israel and the guerrilla group Hizbollah. But wrangling over the mandate and the participants had made it hard for the United Nations to muster support for the mission. Syria and Israel are also at odds over whether it should deploy on the Syrian border to prevent arms smuggling. France sent 200 soldiers last week to join the 2,000-strong UNIFIL force which has been in south Lebanon since 1978. The United Nations has approved an expanded force of up to 15,000. ISRAEL-SYRIA DISPUTE In response to the dispute between Syria and Israel over deploying the U.N. force along the Syrian border, Lebanon undertook on Thursday to prevent smuggling. It did not rule out asking the U.N. troops to help the army with its border task but said the cabinet had not yet taken a decision on that. Syria threatened on Wednesday to close the border if the U.N. troops deploy there. Israel says it will not lift a sea and air blockade of Lebanon unless the U.N. force helps the Lebanese army ensure that no new weapons reach Hizbollah in the south. Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the cabinet would have to discuss the matter but Lebanon had no intention of showing hostility toward Syria. "We want friendly relations with Syria and we are interested in the question of the border to prevent any infiltration into Lebanon," he told the French television channel TV5. The truce ended a war in which nearly 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, were killed, as well as 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers. The war erupted after Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised more than $2 billion in reconstruction funds for the areas in northern Israel that were damaged during the war with Hizbollah. An opinion poll published on Thursday showed Olmert's centrist party had only half the public support it had gained in a March election, while backing for two rightist parties had doubled. Olmert acknowledged there had been failures in the war and promised an investigation. "The question is how to draw lessons from the achievements and from failures, from the responses we made and the failures we have had. A check into this will be conducted," he said. Israeli forces are also engaged in conflict with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is trying to free another captured soldier. On Thursday, Israelis killed three Palestinians and seized a senior member of the Hamas movement, Younis Abu Daqqa. One of those killed was Abu Daqqa's brother. (Additional reporting by Beirut, Jerusalem, Paris and Rome bureaux) © Reuters 2006. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. 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