France Getting Nervous
Charles Johnson
Wed Aug 16, 2006 at 7:06 pm PDT • Views: 250
It’s beginning to dawn on France what they’ve gotten themselves into: France uneasy about mandate. (Hat tip: Tadeusz.)
French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie voiced concern about deploying troops without clearly defined goals.
“France wants the mission’s rules of engagement to be clear and it to have real means,” she told French TV. “Sadly, all too often, the United Nations forces don’t have the power that they asked for.”
The main political parties share such reservations.
Jacques Myard, an MP in France’s governing UMP party and a member of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, told the BBC the last UN resolution did not make it clear how France can act. “I know that a lot of military, high-ranking officials in France are reluctant if this mandate is not very precise,” he said.
The opposition socialists have also warned that “extreme vigilance” is needed, saying the UN resolution does nothing to address the conditions necessary for a political agreement that would guarantee the security of peacekeeping forces.
Above all, France wants to avoid a situation where its own soldiers find themselves having to disarm Hezbollah fighters.
In 1983, 58 French parachutists were killed in Beirut when the building in which they were staying was blown up. They too had been part of a multinational peacekeeping force.
Frank says: