A French Farce?

France has finally announced it will put an extra 200 men into Lebanon, read here. As we warned here and again here the UN have fallen for believing the lies and bluster that the larger ex-nation states of the EU now take for diplomacy, having made such gains with similar tactics on their home continent. The mooted UN International "peace-keeping/imposing" force, that at one time was talked of as consisting of 30,000 troops and to be led by a large Franco/Italian force, has dwindled tonight to elements of the Lebanese army and a French contingent in UNIFIL doubled from 200 to 400 men. When France offered to lead this force it appears they meant just that, providing the generals and perhaps enough headquarters staff and the necessary chefs and waiters to keep them comfortable. If senior officers are all France is prepared to commit does this mean that the actual troops required to undertake the disarming of the Hezbollah fighters will thus be further restricted to francophone countries. Ex EU President and now Prime Minister Prodi of Italy, having been widely reported to have been considering a contribution of several thousand troops, is once more left floundering which the experience of his last job at least leaves him well rehearsed. If the EU Rapid Reaction Force exists for anything other than for suppressing EU internal dissent, which is what I have always suspected, then now is surely the time to put it to the test? After all it does already exist, according to this!