'UNIFIL won't disarm Hizbullah' - Russian defense minister

[bemildred]

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Friday that " UN peacekeepers deployed in Lebanon are unlikely to be able to disarm the Hizbullah, as entailed by UN Security Council Resolution 1701."

In a statement to the official Russian news agency Friday, Ivanov added that " I strongly doubt that the UN will fulfill this task."

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Peacekeepers are instructed to ensure Lebanon' s Southern border with Israel is " free of any armed personnel and weapons other than those of the Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL
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The Russian mission does not operate under the command of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon. Following the ceremony, Isakov saluted the efforts of Russian engineers, and said " Russia would never hesitate to help Lebanon overcome any difficulties."

TerraNet

[Solo_in_MD]

1. They have also said they will not shoot unless attacked first

Unless they are the French who want to fire at IAF recce flights...

[Warren Stupidity]

2. Israel is required to respect Lebanon's territorial integrity.

That includes airspace. Reconnaisance overflights are acts of war and direct violations of the ceasefire.

[pelsar]

3. of course..

lebanon is to supposed to return the kidnapped soldiers..and not rearm hizballa with new missles.....hidden amongst the villages to be fired upon israeli cities after the next kidnapping. (this was not their first attempt)

israel would be derelict if it didnt do recon flights to discover where the new missles are being hidden...but i guess for some those recon flights and what they discover and what they prevent (dead israelis) is of a lesser importance.

[Solo_in_MD]

8. UNIFIL has said that they wont disarm Hezbollah or

inderdict arms shipments. Both are requriements of 1701.

UNIFIL has said that they will only shoot in self defense after they have been attacked. However the French are saber rattling over recce flight (from their defense ministry, not via UNIFIL).

Fortunately the troops in the field are smart enough not to get stupid with their radars...

[breakaleg]

4. It's nice to see they are rebuilding some of the destroyed bridges

in the south. It's a step forward.

[bemildred]

5. I thought the most interesting part of it was the various details of what is

occurring on the ground there, as opposed to the Russian Ministers comments, which were a re-iteration of what has been clear all along.

Resolution 1701 seems dead, or at least in the comatose state of various other resolutions where the parties all feel free to pick and choose the parts they will adhere to. In other words, it is mainly a propaganda device in a situation where the relevant parties all pursue their own agendas without reference to its requirements.

[pelsar]

6. it was more of a ceasefire.....

and a change in dynamics......no one really believed that it would kept to...but it has served a purpose in the short term.....and now we get out our crystal balls....

[bemildred]

7. It got the belligerents separated,

and allowed the civil populations to return to business, that is not a bad thing.