Reaching agreement on a beefed up UN force for Lebanon represents a considerable diplomatic achievement for Kofi Annan, the hard-working and frank-speaking UN Secretary General. His success demonstrates the usefulness - even the indispensability - of the international organisation, following some difficult weeks of war when American obstruction of a proposed ceasefire paralysed the Security Council, and threatened to deal a lethal blow to the United Nations as a whole.
Under Kofi Annan’s prompting - at a meeting in Brussels last Friday of European Union foreign ministers - France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Poland and the Nordic countries agreed to provide 7,000 men to the UN force, while Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nepal, and possibly also Turkey, are expected in the coming days to agree to contribute an equal number. France will command the force until February 2007, when it will hand over command to Italy.
Israel had tried to veto the participation of Muslim countries with which it has no relations, but Annan insisted that the UN force must be acceptable to both sides - that is to say to Lebanon and Hizbullah, as well as to Israel.
http://www.agenceglobal.com/Article.asp?Id=1022
Annan launches Middle East tour
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AA37B5F0-E14E-4F7D-B677-FE396B92CE50.htm
Under Kofi Annan’s prompting - at a meeting in Brussels last Friday of European Union foreign ministers - France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Poland and the Nordic countries agreed to provide 7,000 men to the UN force, while Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nepal, and possibly also Turkey, are expected in the coming days to agree to contribute an equal number. France will command the force until February 2007, when it will hand over command to Italy.
Israel had tried to veto the participation of Muslim countries with which it has no relations, but Annan insisted that the UN force must be acceptable to both sides - that is to say to Lebanon and Hizbullah, as well as to Israel.
http://www.agenceglobal.com/Article.asp?Id=1022
Annan launches Middle East tour
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AA37B5F0-E14E-4F7D-B677-FE396B92CE50.htm