[Ynet News] Ephraim Halevy - More than 20 years ago, an international force consisting of 1,800 U.S. Marines, 1,500 French foreign legionnaires, and 1,400 Italian soldiers came to Lebanon to help stabilize the country's leadership. Hizballah decided their presence stood in opposition to Iranian and Lebanese interests, and a suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden truck into the forces' barracks. Overall, the Americans lost 265 soldiers, France lost 89 men, and Italy lost one. There is no chance an international force will be deployed with any enforcement power. French President Chirac has already said that the French soldiers who are supposed to form the backbone of the international force would not disarm Hizballah. No international force can protect Israel's security. UNIFIL has served as an umbrella for Hizballah to gain strength in the areas in which the UN force is deployed. The writer is a former head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency.
2006-08-03 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive