General François Cann, an expert on Lebanon who held command positions in that country on several occasions, expresses his concern at the current situation, and describes the difficulties that will face UNIFIL. Unanswered questions on 14 August 2006, the day of the ceasefire, include the force’s mission, its rules of engagement and the constraints on its operations.
Bis Repetita Placent, or The Mournful Song of the Sirens of Lebanon
Ever since 1860, France has succumbed periodically to the song of the sirens of the Orient by sending its soldiers to Lebanon. This siren song has been heard yet again, and we are talking once more about an intervention force.(1) Such a force is not an end in itself, nor is its deployment. It only makes sense if it has a mission that is both realistic and achievable, and if it has sufficient means to guarantee respect.
UNIFIL: Mission Impossible
Our mission in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in 1978 was doubly impossible: guarantee the territorial integrity of Lebanon, and restore political and administrative authority in the country. It was obviously out of the question to try to chase the Israelis from South Lebanon (Blue Helmets are not authorised to mount military operations), at the same time as the Lebanese territorial prefects, their police and their Army refused to go to the south.
We therefore resigned ourselves to a sort of macabre game of Boy Scouts, trying to prevent the Palestinians, the Morabitouns, the Syrians and various other parties from committing exactions in Israel, and at the same time trying to prevent the pro-Israeli militias from infiltrating towards the north.
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