State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack Says Middle East Cease Fire Will "Strengthen Democracy In Lebanon." "The U.N.-declared cease-fire in Lebanon, if fully implemented[emphasis mine], would be a strategic setback for Iran and Syria because it would strengthen democracy in Lebanon and stabilize the border with Israel, the State Department said Monday. 'You will not have Hezbollah roaming freely in the south of Lebanon,' spokesman Sean McCormack said. 'Iran and Syria will not have had the ability to rearm Hezbollah.'"
(Barry Schweid, "U.S. Touts Mideast Cease-Fire Prospects," The Associated Press, 8/14/06)
If the peacekeepers are simply a larger version of the toothless, feckless UNIFIL troops already in position... this is just pi$$ing up a rope, and our hands are getting wet... I've seen nothing in the administration of the UN under Mr. Annan to suggest this force will have any better organization, teeth, ROE and success than previous efforts in the region or further south. This situation isn't analogous to the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai - where Egypt and Israel have been generally behaving themselves since 1973.
C'mon, Mr. Annan et cie - surprise me.
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