http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=4e03c832-9e47-43f9-861d-7611 cca7e06a <http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=4e03c832-9e47-43f9-861d-761 1cca7e06a&k=83296> &k=83296 U.S. plans new resolution on disarming Hezbollah EU confused over UN force
Edith M. Lederer The Associated Press Monday, August 21, 2006 UNITED NATIONS -- The United States is planning to introduce a new UN resolution on disarming Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, but U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said Monday this should not hold up the quick deployment of UN peacekeepers. Bolton said getting an expanded UN force on the ground is the most urgent priority because of the fragile ceasefire agreement that came into effect Aug. 14 under UN Resolution 1701, which calls for the 2,000-member UN force to be expanded to 15,000 troops. The UN said it wants at least 3,500 new troops on the ground in south Lebanon by Aug. 28, but countries that are potential troop contributors have expressed concern about the rules of engagement, and exactly what troops would be required to do, especially regarding the disarming of Hezbollah. While several Muslim nations have pledged troops to the new force, there have been no major pledges from European countries, which the United States wants to ensure that the UN contingent is balanced. Meanwhile, in Brussels, Belgium, European nations on Monday appeared to be waiting for UN guidance that would clarify the rules of engagement, including the crucial question of using force against Hezbollah. The European Union has scheduled a meeting Wednesday to discuss possible contributions to the force, known as UNIFIL. By that meeting, EU ambassadors, diplomats and defence ministry officials hope at least to have clear enough guidelines from the UN about a new mandate for UNIFIL to be able to cobble together an international coalition. "All the countries are saying what Germany is saying, we need the right rules for the deployment" said German Chancellor Angela Merkel Monday. French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnes Romatet-Espagne said Monday that "France was waiting for details about the means granted to this force to guarantee security." Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said Monday that he told UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that Italy is willing to command a UN force in Lebanon. Italy has not committed itself to specific numbers, but has indicated it would be prepared to send 3,000 soldiers, the largest contingent to date. "It is a decision that Kofi Annan will take at the end of broad consultations," Prodi told reporters in the seaside resort of Castiglione della Pescaia. "We will have a definitive solution in the coming days," he said. Whether the prospect of a new resolution on disarming Hezbollah could break that impasse remains to be seen. U.S. President George W. Bush talked about a new resolution at a news conference in Washington Monday when he was asked whether the United States would demand that UN peacekeepers disarm Hezbollah. "There will be another resolution coming out of the United Nations, giving further instructions to the international force," Bush said. "First things first is to get the rules of engagement clear so that the force will be robust to help the Lebanese." "One thing . for certain is that when this force goes in to help Lebanon, Hezbollah won't have that safe haven or that kind of freedom to run in Lebanon's southern border," Bush said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
