LONDON — The idea that NATO would organize a peace-keeping
force along the Israeli-Lebanese border is falling on deaf ears.
Israel has proposed the establishment of a NATO force to patrol the
border with Lebanon and prevent the entry of Hizbullah. Israeli Defense
Minister Amir Peretz said NATO could fulfill the role of the Lebanese Army
until it was ready to deploy in the south.
But NATO sources said the Western alliance lacks the political will as well
as the capability to rapidly organize a peace-keeping force that would
ensure the withdrawal of the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah from southern
Lebanon. The sources said not one NATO member has formally agreed to send troops
to an Iranian-dominated war zone.
"The chances of NATO entering this conflict appears very low," an
alliance source said. "Everybody knows that after the first attack,
everybody will pull out."
The Israeli proposal was discussed during the current visit by U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Officials said Peretz and Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert have agreed to the deployment of an international
force, but not one under United Nations auspices. A UN peace-keeping force
has been in Lebanon for nearly 30 years.
"We cannot return to the status quo ante in which extremists can decide
to take innocent lives through their rocket capabilities," Ms. Rice said on
Tuesday.
On Monday, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said the alliance has not
received an official request for a peace-keeping force. Appathurai said the
issue was not scheduled for discussion during the next meeting of permanent
NATO ambassadors.
The sources said the United States — expected to discuss an
international force during a meeting in Rome on Wednesday — has refused to
send troops to Lebanon. They said the prospect of participation by other
NATO members in such a mission was extremely low. New Zealand has been the
only country that expressed interest in joining such a force.
"Any new international force on the Lebanon-Israel border is liable to
face major obstacles and incur substantial risks," Michael Eisenstadt, a
senior fellow at the Washington Institute, said.
