Monday, July 20, 2009

Wrong for the Job

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is embarking on a tour of four South American countries in a bid to stem Iranian influence in the region. Because when I think of people well-situated to improve Israel's image vis-a-vis Iran, Lieberman is the first name that jumps to mind. (UPDATE: And we're off to a great start!)

In the related matter of people being bad at their jobs, Israel is accusing UNFIL (the UN "peacekeeping" entity on the Israel/Lebanon border) of cooperating with infilitrators who raised a Lebanese flag on Israeli territory. More disturbingly, the Israeli government also believes UNFIL has essentially turned a blind eye to Hezbollah weapons caches in the region -- a far more serious violation of its peacekeeping mandate, albeit one in keeping with the UN's generally astonishing lack of concern when the topic of Israel's security comes into play.

3 comments:

PG said...

Another "ur doin it wrong": Arresting Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates on suspicion of breaking and entering. Into his own home.

Barry Deutsch said...

Gosh, a spectacular accusation, presented without any evidence, and made by an anonymous source in the Israeli government. Don't you think you should have treated the claim with at least a suggestion of skepticism?

As for the dozen unarmed civilians (who were more like demonstrators than "infiltrators") who walked in and out of Israeli territory, if a problem can be resolved peacefully without having to have armed soldiers confront unarmed civilians, then that's good. If that's "cooperation," then I favor it -- and so, in this circumstance, did the IDF.

David Schraub said...

I mean, by all accounts UNFIL didn't do a thing until the weapons cache literally exploded in front of them, so there aren't too many alternatives that don't include some form of "they suck at their job." It doesn't seem like either UNFIL or the Lebanese army has either the will or the punch to take on Hezbollah in South Lebanon -- this isn't the first story indicating that.

I also think you understate the provocation of a group of nationals from a country that doesn't think your country should exist trooped out onto your territory and raising their flag. There are ways for competent border patrols to stop such shenanigans between the poles of "violence" and "allowing it".