The Middle East Continues...

[Ming]

We shall see if the war is really over...

The Middle East continues.

[Thorn]

lol @ Ming, sounds like the beginning of a sci-fi book.

[SlowwHand]

Security Council OKs Mideast peace deal

By NICK WADHAMS, Associated Press Writer
50 minutes ago

UNITED NATIONS - The
U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution Friday that calls for an end to the war between
Israel and Hezbollah, and authorizes 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to help Lebanese troops take control of south Lebanon as Israel withdraws. ADVERTISEMENT



The resolution offers the best chance yet for peace after more than four weeks of fighting that has killed more than 800 people, destroyed Lebanon's infrastructure, displaced hundreds of thousands of people and inflamed tensions across the Middle East. Drafted by France and the U.S., it was adopted unanimously.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert endorsed the resolution late Friday, after a day of brinksmanship including a threat to expand the ground war. Lebanon's Cabinet was to consider the draft on Saturday, but Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice said the Lebanese government assured her that it supported the text.

The next point of contention will be when to implement the cessation of hostilities. Israel said its campaign would continue until Sunday, when its Cabinet will meet to endorse the resolution. Long columns of Israeli tanks, troops and armored personnel carriers streamed over the border early Saturday.

U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan said he planned to meet Lebanese and Israeli officials as soon as possible to determine the exact date of a cease-fire.

Israel on Saturday continued airstrikes in Akkar province in the north and on Sidon and Tyre in the south, security officials and local media said.

Rice said the "hard work of diplomacy" was only beginning with the passage of the resolution and that it would be unrealistic to expect an immediate end to all violence. She said the United States would increase its assistance to Lebanon to $50 million, and demanded other nations stop interfering in its affairs.

"Today we call upon every state, especially
Iran and
Syria, to respect the sovereignty of the Lebanese government and the will of the international community," Rice told the council. Iran and Syria back Hezbollah and supply it rockets and other weapons.

"We will now end to work very hard," Rice told reporters afterward. "This is a first step but it is a good first step."

With tough language in remarks before the vote, Annan said hundreds of millions of people around the world shared his frustration that the council had taken so long to act. That inaction has "badly shaken the world's faith in its authority and integrity," he said.

"I would be remiss if I did not tell you how profoundly disappointed I am that the council did not reach this point much, much earlier," he said.

The Security Council resolution leaves out several key demands from both Israel and Lebanon in efforts to come up with a workable arrangement.

Despite Lebanese objections, Israel will be allowed to continue defensive operations — a term that Arab diplomats fear the Israeli military will interpret widely. A dispute over the Chebaa Farms area along the Syria-Lebanon-Israel border will be left for later; and Israel won't get its wish for an entirely new multinational force separate from the U.N. peacekeepers that have been stationed in south Lebanon since 1978.

Lebanon's acting foreign minister, Tarek Mitri, suggested that his nation would accept the resolution though he said its call for a cessation of fighting could not be implemented. He criticized it for allowing Israel to continue some operations.

"A cease-fire that by its terms cannot be implemented is no cease-fire," Mitri said. "A cease-fire that retains the right for one side the right not to cease firing is not a cease-fire."

There is also no call for the release of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel or a demand for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops. Although the draft resolution emphasizes the need for the "unconditional release" of the two Israeli soldiers whose July 12 capture by Hezbollah sparked the conflict, that call is not included in the list of steps required for a lasting cease-fire.

Diplomats said the negotiators' main goal had been to come up with a draft that spells out a lasting political solution to the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border. The standoff has bedeviled the region for more than two decades.

"You never get a deal like this with everybody getting everything that they want," Britain's Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said. "The question is, has everybody got enough for this to stick and for it to be enforceable? Nobody wants to go back to where we were before this last episode started."

At the heart of the resolution are two elements: It seeks an immediate halt to the fighting that began July 12 when Hezbollah militants kidnapped two Israeli troops along the Blue Line, the U.N.-demarcated border separating Israel; and it spells out a series of steps that would lead to a permanent cease-fire and long-term solution.

That would be done by creating a new buffer zone in south Lebanon "free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the government of Lebanon and UNIFIL" — the acronym of the U.N. force deployed in the region since 1978. The force now has 2,000 troops; the resolution would expand it to a maximum of 15,000.

South Lebanon had been under de facto control of Hezbollah, a Shiite militia, for several years until Israeli forces occupied parts of it after the start of the fighting last month. The political solution would include implementation of previous Security Council resolutions calling for Hezbollah's disarmament.

Under the resolution, UNIFIL would be significantly beefed up to help coordinate when 15,000 Lebanese troops deploy to the region. As Lebanese forces take control of the south, Israeli troops would withdraw "in parallel."

Israel is chiefly concerned that Hezbollah not be allowed to regain its strength in south Lebanon once a cessation of hostilities goes into effect. It had originally demanded the creation of a new multinational force separate from UNIFIL, which it claimed was powerless.

Several diplomats said UNIFIL would essentially become so strong that it will not resemble the weaker force it once was.

The resolution gives Annan one week to report back on how well it has been implemented. The council leaves open the possibility of another resolution to further enhance UNIFIL's mandate and other steps to achieve a permanent cease-fire.

The draft also asks Annan to come up with proposals within 30 days on resolving various border disputes including the one over Chebaa Farms. Lebanon had wanted a direct demand in the draft that Chebaa Farms be put under U.N. control.

Friday's tumultuous events began with a decision by Olmert, after consultations with his defense minister, to send troops deeper into Hezbollah territory. Still, that order was coupled with signals from Israel that it could halt the offensive if a cease-fire arrangement met its demands, particularly for a strong multinational force.

Diplomats at the U.N. said the adoption of the resolution must spur them to solve the wider conflict in the Middle East, particularly between Israel and the Palestinians. The Lebanon war has overshadowed the turmoil there, caused by the capture of an Israeli soldier on June 25.

Qatar's Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani said that in the coming days Arab states would submit formal requests for a Security Council meeting in September to hammer out a new regional peace plan.

___

Associated Press reporters Karin Laub in Jerusalem, Paul Burkhardt at the
United Nations and Anne Gearan in Washington contributed to this story.

[RGBVideo]

Toby Rowe wrote:
DU shells are standard NATO issue, only now are we touchy about it as people die from it. I might be missing a thread or two here, but don't people die in a war.

Thank you, I remember how some left-wing kids (you know, the sort of people who repeat every single talking point of their pet party in every single situation with foam coming out of their mouths) who used to play football with me talked to me about the evils of "DU" back when Kosovo was bombed, so I didn't recall whether they referred to UN or NATO troops using it in the former Yugoslavia. Al Jazeera ran that propaganda story about 2 years ago as well, so it's depressing to see that people here are still demonizing depleted uranium over more expensive metals like Tungsten with no argument other than the "uranium" part of the name.

I guess for some people it's so important to criticize a faction that it doesn't really matter what AgitProp claims they're using against them. :/

[Sprayber]

With tough language in remarks before the vote, Annan said hundreds of millions of people around the world shared his frustration that the council had taken so long to act. That inaction has "badly shaken the world's faith in its authority and integrity," he said.

"I would be remiss if I did not tell you how profoundly disappointed I am that the council did not reach this point much, much earlier," he said.

Considering how well the UN usually works in a situation like this, he and the hundreds of millions of people around the world should be happy that it worked at all..

In fact, he should probably hold off on any kind of complaints about timing until it actually does work. If it works I'll be the first to give the Un a for it

[Az]

So far, it seems that we haven't adopted the resolution, but we will tomorrow, or somesuch. In any case, FINALLY, our forces have moved in full north, and they're making good time, with casualties to the enemy, and no casualties to us.

begging the question - WHY THE **** DIDN'T WE DO IT EARLIER?!!!

[DinoDoc]

Cuz Olmert seems to be a moron.

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Cuz Olmert seems to be a moron.

Seems to be, yes, but is he ?

If, say, two weeks ago, the israelis had gone in strong and UN made a weak resolution, it would be defeat both military and politically when they had to pull out.

Now, with a strong resolution, it will be safe to pull out after a major operation.

I don't think he is a moron.

[DinoDoc]

They should have gone in strong from day 1 instead of thinking they could do it on the cheap from the air. As it is now, his government will be in danger of collapsing after the current crisis is over because of his bungling.

[BlackCat]

You miss the point - it's easy to go in, but difficult to get out.

[DinoDoc]

Then he should have been content to engage in "proportionate" (whatever that is.) assaults or been content to simply negotiate with Hezbollah.

[Lodi]

You miss the point - it's easy to go in, but difficult to get out.

Maybe they mean to occupy it indefinitely?

Personally I see the latest resolution as another hiccup by the UN.

[Az]

Cuz Olmert seems to be a moron.

QFT

You miss the point - it's easy to go in, but difficult to get out.

yeah, but as it seems, going in had to be done anyway, right?

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by Az

You miss the point - it's easy to go in, but difficult to get out.

yeah, but as it seems, going in had to be done anyway, right?

When did the orders to go in for real come ? They came when it was pretty certain that a strong UN force would be sent in.

What if you had gone in earlier and UN decided to send a small unarmed observation force ? Would you have occupied southern lebanon for yet another 20 years ? or pulled out and allowed hizb to retake the area ? Both would have been political suicide, not only for Olmert but also for Isreal in general.

[Az]

the un wouldn't have decided to send a small observation force, but a stronger one, with more authority, because we could've dictated more rules to the ceasefire...