Lebanese PM Rejects U.N. Cease-Fire Plan
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James Joyner | Monday, August 7, 2006 |
Lebanese PM rejects U.N. cease-fire plan - Yahoo! News
Lebanon’s government rejected a U.N. cease-fire plan backed by President Bush on Monday, demanding Israel immediately withdraw even before a peacekeeping force arrives and promising to send 15,000 troops to take control of the Hezbollah stronghold along the border.
Prime Minister Fuad Saniora’s stand, delivered in a tearful speech to Arab foreign ministers, came on a day in which 49 Lebanese were killed — one of the deadliest days for Lebanese in nearly four weeks of fighting. The rejection, ratified by the Cabinet, complicated efforts to find a speedy diplomatic solution to the deadly conflict.
Saniora’s Cabinet, which includes two Hezbollah ministers, voted unanimously to send 15,000 troops to stand between Israel and Hezbollah should a cease-fire take hold and Israeli forces withdraw south of the border. The move was an attempt to show that Lebanon has the will and ability to assert control over its south, which is run by Hezbollah, the powerful Shiite Muslim militia backed by Syria and Iran.
It’s a little late in the game to make that statement, isn’t it?
Moreover, it’s not even clear that it matters what Lebanon’s government thinks. The warring parties are, for all intents and purposes, Israel and Hezbollah (and, by proxy, Iran and Syria). If Saniora agreed and Hezbollah did not, certainly, it would be meaningless. If Hezbollah agrees, Lebanon’s consent is, likewise, irrelevant.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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James, your point is taken. So why are we sending Rice and other State Dept. bigwigs to talk to the Lebanese Government, if not to just go through the motion of looking like we're doing something?
DCL: It's a good question. Maybe they helped talk the govt into sending troops to the south, which might be helpful.
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