Bad guys with guns trump UNIFIL - again.

Perhaps you were under the impression that a UNIFIL force actually meant something in the real wider world – if so, read this Ha’aretz article and weep:

Armed Hezbollah militants warded off members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) last month when the peacekeepers discovered a truck carrying weapons and ammunition belonging to the Lebanon-based guerilla group.

The incident was referred to briefly in a semi-yearly report submitted to the UN Security Council by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The incident was the first time that UNIFIL forces were confronted by armed Hezbollah men south of Lebanon's Litani River, an area which Security Council resolution 1701 prohibits Hezbollah from entering.

According to a government source in Jerusalem, the incident caused great embarrassment for UNIFIL. The source described the incident, explaining that UNIFIL troops on patrol discovered the truck and chased it down and pulled it over. When the UNIFIL troops approached the vehicle, the source said, armed Hezbollah men exited the truck and threatened the troops at gunpoint. The UNIFIL patrol then went back into their cars, according to the source, and returned to their base.

I am sure there is a perfectly rational explanation for UNIFIl actions (or perhaps I should say - lack of), like say, the Hezbollah gunman were really nice guys for guys with loaded guns and we didn’t want to hurt them. It was the first time we caught Hezbollah and we didn’t want to embarrass the Hezbollah guys ...pride and all that. Besides if we had embarrassed them. maybe they would have blown-up our barracks…

Really, all I want to know is which contingent of soldiers turned tail – the French, Germans, Italians, South Koreans or East Indians. Nah, I can’t believe the East Indians would run - so strike them off the list of possibles. Of course, this really isn’t surprising since it has already been widely reported that UNIFIL will not patrol at night in Lebanon.