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Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/
A Force with Teeth
[Telegraph-UK] Editorial - It is easy to criticize the French government for its reluctance to contribute soldiers to the UN peace-keeping force in Lebanon. The French government's wariness is, however, understandable. French officials have called the mandate agreed for the UN force by the Security Council "a recipe for disaster." That description is likely to prove accurate. UN troops will not have the power to use force except in self-defense. They will not be allowed to intervene to disarm Hizballah. Without a strengthened mandate, the UN force will simply have to watch as the situation unravels. Hizballah will not disarm voluntarily; the Israelis will not sit idly by if rocket attacks resume. If the war starts up again, the only difference will be that a large UN peace-keeping force will be caught in the middle. If the UN presence is to have any positive effect, the Security Council must agree to a strengthened mandate.