July 27, 2007: Several attacks
on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, plus public statements by al Qaeda
leaders calling for more attacks on the foreign troops in Lebanon, have led
Italy, Spain and France to meet with Hizbollah to arrange additional
protection. Now some UN patrols are accompanied by a civilian vehicle full of
Hizbollah members. Officially, UN peacekeepers are forbidden to negotiate with
Hizbollah, or any other armed group in areas where they are keeping the peace.
UN officials are supposed to handle the negotiating. But European nations have
a long history of making side-deals with terrorists, and that's what this is.
It's not the first time. A small force of UN peacekeepers has been on the
Lebanon-Israel border for over two decades. For almost as long, Israel has been
complaining that the UN troops basically cooperate with Hizbollah. In return,
Hizbollah does not attack the peacekeepers.
Technically, al Qaeda is at
war with all Shias. Hizbollah was founded to protect Lebanese Shia from the
majority Lebanese Christians and Sunnis. But Iran, the sponsor of Hizbollah
(and supplier of weapons, cash and technical assistance), is the most powerful
Shia country in the world, and has long supported al Qaeda when the two
terrorist organizations had a common goal. In this case, al Qaeda, Iran and
Hizbollah want the UN peacekeepers out of Lebanon. If they can't have that,
then they want the UN peacekeepers to leave all Islamic terrorists (Shia and
Sunni) alone there. Apparently, most of the nations supplying those
peacekeepers are down with that. This will allow Hizbollah to rebuild its
bunkers and rocket supplies on the Israeli border. Al Qaeda will have access to
the border as well, and opportunities to attack Israeli troops patrolling the
border, and launch attacks right across the border.
