Hizbullah "Not Worried" About UNIFIL

Ha'aretz reports: In an interview he gave on Tuesday evening to Hizbullah-aligned satellite TV station al-Manar, Nasrallah asserted that he is not worried about UNIFIL. In his words, nothing about UNIFIL's composition suggests that its aim is to disarm Hizbullah or that it is capable of doing so. Nasrallah's rhetoric confirmed what most UNIFIL critics have been asserting all along. The latest re-incarnation of UNIFIL, with its large Italian and French components, is all show, no action. . French UNIFIL commander Gen. Alain Pellegrini has been sabre rattling against Israel on the issue of Israeli Air Force overflights in Lebanon, and his forces even prevented an Israeli raid on Hizbullah, but they have absolutely no intention of tackling Nasrallah's terrorist movement, which is at the root of instability in Lebanon. To the contrary, in his interview, Nasrallah almost makes it seem as if UNIFIL accepted his patronage. In his words, the countries contributing troops to UNIFIL contacted his organization before sending their troops to Lebanon in order to get guarantees from him, presumably regarding their safety. Nasrallah, it appears, was magnanimous enough to grant those guarantees in exchange for ...hmmm, perhaps a commitment that French and Italian troops would spend their time on the beach, rather than tracking down the militia's weapons?

Israelis distrust the UN as it is. European taxpayers should be second on the list. The way things are looking now, it seems that they're being asked to bankroll a useless mission.