Will UNIFIL’s mandate be extended past July 31, 2006?
Saturday, July 29th, 2006
Update: The UN has extended UNIFIL’s mandate for one month to August 31, 2006. This was done “pending consideration of other options for future arrangements in South Lebanon.” Kofi Annan pushed for a one month extension instead of six for obvious reasons. Although some Israeli groups question the very neutrality of UNIFIL, since they are still in the region, they have the power to do more good than harm.
UNIFIL — the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon — has been getting a bad rap lately. In addition to losing four observers to Israeli shells last week, today we learn that two Indian UNIFIL members were wounded during an air strike in the border village of Adaisseh. In total, the 2000-strong UNIFIL group has lost 249 troops since it was first deployed in March of 1978.
To add insult to injury, UNIFIL has been called a weak and ineffectual force by countless media outlets and analysts. Maybe so. But UNIFIL’s ineffectiveness does not mean they have failed. Rather, it is Hezbollah and Israel (and their respective backers and arms dealers) that have failed to keep the peace. UNIFIL’s own press releases tell the story. Depressing statements such as these:
Heavy exchanges of fire continued along the length of the Blue Line in the last 24 hours, with a major concentration in the western sector. Hezbollah fired rockets from various locations, and the IDF continued the shelling and aerial bombardment.
have become a boilerplate paragraphs that appear in daily UNIFIL announcements. The UN group has struggled to resupply its posts with water and provisions while at the same time escorting hundreds of trapped Lebanese civilians to safer ground. It will be interesting to see what happens on July 31 2006 when UNIFIL’s mandate expires. Given the ferocity of this war, and both side’s willingness to inflict collateral damage, UNIFIL has already saved thousands of innocent lives. While the U.S. and Israel dither over when conditions will be right for a cease fire, let us hope UNIFIL’s mandate is extended and even expanded. “Ineffectual” they may be, yet they appear to be the only force in the region doing any good at all.
