The Associated Press wants us to know that many residents of the Middle East are cynical about the United Nations’ ability to protect them from violence.

Israeli violence.

MARWAHEEN, Lebanon - It was the fourth day of the war, and an Israeli army loudspeaker boomed a warning across the border to this village: “You have two hours to leave.”

Panicked people sought refuge at a U.N. peacekeeping post on the edge of town. But they were turned away, and 23 villagers, most of them women, children and the elderly, died in an Israeli artillery barrage that hit their convoy fleeing Marwaheen.

“If the U.N. had let us inside, maybe we would have been safe,” said Zeinab Abdallah, 19, who lost her father and other relatives in the July 15 barrage. “Maybe things would have been different.” …

Many Lebanese welcome the beefed-up force, yet few hold out much hope it will keep the peace.

“What has the U.N. ever done to protect us?” asked Abu Qassan, a 36-year-old Shiite tobacco farmer in Aita al-Shaab, standing next to a couple dozen homes that were battered by artillery and airstrikes and then bulldozed by Israeli troops. “Only we can defend ourselves. Only Hezbollah can defend us.”