The Lebanon ceasefire is becoming a pathetic joke, as the macho French, so quick to jump in and lead the ceasefire initiative, decide they’re not interested in actually doing anything they promised.

France is considering providing only a symbolic force for the United Nations contingent in Lebanon, and not the thousands of troops UN officials had hoped, Le Monde newspaper said on Thursday.

If true, such a move could seriously delay the UN mission, seen as vital to securing peace between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas, or even scupper the whole operation.

Quoting UN and diplomatic sources, Le Monde said France might send just a dozen officers and around 200 personnel from an engineering division for the beefed-up UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

President Jacques Chirac’s office said the military options “were still under review.”

UPDATE at 8/17/06 8:57:38 am:

Condoleezza Rice says you need a plan to disarm a terror gang like Hizballah. And then you need to hope they’ll do it voluntarily if you ask nicely enough.

“I don’t think there is an expectation that this [UN] force is going to physically disarm Hezbollah,” Rice told USA Today. “I think it’s a little bit of a misreading about how you disarm a militia. You have to have a plan, first of all, for the disarmament of the militia, and then the hope is that some people lay down their arms voluntarily.”

If Hezbollah resists international demands to disarm, Rice said, “one would have to assume that there will be others who are willing to call Hezbollah what we are willing to call it, which is a terrorist organization.”