Yes, we already knew that UNIFIL had no teeth, but tell me again, what, exactly, are they there for? Because it can’t possibly be to stop the re-arming of Hezbullah.
The border between Syria and Lebanon is porous, claims a UN report submitted Tuesday to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. According to the report, checkpoints set up by the Lebanese Army to monitor the border were failing to prevent the smuggling of arms and other goods.
According to the report, “the present state of border security is insufficient to prevent smuggling, in particular smuggling of arms, to any significant extent.” The assessment team stated that “not a single on-border or near-border seizure of smuggled arms has been documented.”
“The procedures used to control arriving vehicles are inadequate,” the report stated. “Lack of such standards and the absence of risk analysis/profiling serves to limit the ability of customs officials to target potential smugglers and prevent the smuggling of weapons and explosives or other dangerous items.”
This is why Israel should never, ever trust the UN to protect her borders. Because every time she has, Israel ha been screwed.
On May 15, Israel’s Independence Day, Egyptian troops began moving into the Sinai and massing near the Israeli border. By May 18, Syrian troops were prepared for battle along the Golan Heights.
Nasser ordered the UN Emergency Force (UNEF), stationed in the Sinai since 1956 as a buffer between Israeli and Egyptian forces after Israel’s withdrawal following the Sinai Campaign, to withdraw on May 16. Without bringing the matter to the attention of the General Assembly (as his predecessor had promised), Secretary-General U Thant complied with the demand. After the withdrawal of the UNEF, the Voice of the Arabs radio station proclaimed on May 18, 1967:
As of today, there no longer exists an international emergency force to protect Israel. We shall exercise patience no more. We shall not complain any more to the UN about Israel. The sole method we shall apply against Israel is total war, which will result in the extermination of Zionist existence.(6)
An enthusiastic echo was heard May 20 from Syrian Defense Minister Hafez Assad:
Our forces are now entirely ready not only to repulse the aggression, but to initiate the act of liberation itself, and to explode the Zionist presence in the Arab homeland. The Syrian army, with its finger on the trigger, is united….I, as a military man, believe that the time has come to enter into a battle of annihilation.(7)
And now, the UNIFIL forces are right there, acting as a buffer for Hezbullah, and is anyone out there stupid enough to take a bet with me that when Hezbullah finally attacks, the UN manages to interfere with Israel?
Yeah, I didn’t think so.
Okay, less than 60 seconds after writing and saving the above as this post, I found proof that it’s a sucker bet.
UNIFIL officials have slammed the IDF for refusing to set up a hot line that could connect senior military commanders and, according to the peacekeeping force, allow them to quickly deal with misunderstandings and border incidents that could spark conflict.
[…] Senior UNIFIL officers told The Jerusalem Post recently that they had established a hot line with the Lebanese army and that it was used often to quickly connect senior officers to calm situations that had the potential of escalating.
The IDF, the UN officers claimed, had refused to set up the hot line since it did not want to be committed to talking with senior officers like Graziano in the middle of an incident, instead preferring to take its time in making real-time decisions.
[…] Senior Israeli defense officials said UNIFIL was turning an unimportant issue into a “big deal” that could have negative repercussions for Israel, which is already being blamed for not completely implementing Security Council Resolution 1701 by continuing overflights in Lebanon and by not withdrawing from the northern part of Ghajar, a village that has been cut in two by the UN-delimited Blue Line border between Israel and Lebanon, and has been used by Hizbullah to launch attacks.
Right. UNIFIL can’t stop Syria from sending a constant stream of Iranian-purchased weapons over the border, and what are they bitching about? That the IDF won’t set up a Bat-phone with Commissioner Gordon so he can send out a bat-signal when the big, bad terrorists attack UNIFIL. Like, say, last week. When they murdered half a dozen peacekeepers and have, to date, suffered no ill effects whatsoever. Oh, wait. I forgot. The UNSC issued a resolution condemning the bombing.
UNIFIL, landfill. I can’t seem to tell the difference. Sorry. That was my inner Lair Simon striking out.
UNIFIL is a joke and cannot protect themselves much less Israel !!
Meryl, Meryl, Meryl… You fell into the trap. I know you don’t really think the UN or UNIFIL was there to protect Israel’s borders.
The sole reason they are there is to protect Hizbollah… to rescue Arab pride, by saving their hides. UNIFIL is only meant to make it difficult for Israel to defend itself without offending the UN… like THAT can ever happen.
Meryl, I think that you should apologize to the people who maintain landfills and garbage dumps. They perform a needed service for their communities, unlike UNIFIL which is attempting to destroy civilized communities.
What, the IDF’s never heard of Voice Mail?