Fighting Frogs
Aussie Dave | Nov 23, 2006 | 10 comments
The French are getting testy.French soldiers in Lebanon who feel threatened by aggressive Israeli overflights are permitted to shoot at IAF fighter jets, a high-ranking French military officer told The Jerusalem Post.Wednesday, several days after meeting with an IDF general in Paris to discuss what he said was a “blatant violation of the cease-fire.”Last weekend, Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan, head of the IDF Planning Directorate, traveled to Paris and met with military officials to explain why the IAF flies over Lebanon despite the UN-brokered cease-fire.Nehushtan, new to his post and previously deputy commander of the air force, told his French counterparts that Israel was conducting the flights to collect intelligence on Hizbullah positions in southern Lebanon.According to the French officer, Nehushtan apologized for an incident on October 31 when an IAF fighter carried out a mock bombing run over a French UNIFIL position in southern Lebanon, almost prompting troops to fire anti-aircraft missiles.“There was a reality on the ground and it was important for us to reaffirm what we had seen and explain clearly what are the orders of the French soldiers to protect themselves,” the French officer said.The French told Nehushtan they would view further aggressive flyovers as a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.“No assurances were made to us that they [the IAF] would stop [the flights],” the French officer said. “The orders that the [French] soldiers have is that their weapons are for self-defense and if a commander will feel threatened, as it was about to happen on the 31st of October, he would have the right to use force.”Milos Strugar, spokesman for UNIFIL, supported the French position, saying that according to the UN resolution, UNIFIL had the right to use force in self-defense, even against Israeli aircraft.“UNIFIL has the right to take all necessary action to protect UN personnel in self-defense,” he said.
Why the French wouldn’t resort to their tried and tested tactic of surrender would have been beyond me, if it weren’t for this crucial bit of information.
France’s furor at the overflights was not divorced from French domestic political considerations, government officials in Jerusalem said Wednesday.France is scheduled to hold the first round of presidential elections in April, and one of those reportedly considering tossing her hat into the ring is Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie.According to these officials, taking a tough stance toward Israel on the issue – a position that grabs headlines in France – helps her raise her profile.The officials said it didn’t hurt Alliot-Marie politically to be seen as someone who needed to be “held back” from responding forcefully to the overflights.
Oppose Israel, win an election.
And people wonder why I have such an anti-French neurosis.
Update: This bears reminding:
Contrary to Israeli hopes that the new multinational force in Lebanon will engage and disarm Hizbullah, the beefed up UNIFIL will not immediately open fire on Hizbullah guerrillas if they are on their way to an attack or even in the midst of an attack on Israel, the commander of the UN peacekeeping force, Maj.-Gen. Alain Pellegrini, told The Jerusalem Post Thursday in an exclusive interview.While the new rules of engagement set by the UN allowed the new UNIFIL force to open fire in order to implement resolution 1701, Pellegrini said he would not automatically order his troops to open fire on Hizbullah guerrillas if they were spotted on their way to the Blue Line to attack Israel. The job of the new multinational force, he said, was to assist the Lebanese army and not to disarm or engage Hizbullah or even to prevent its attacks.
I guess preventing Hizbullah terror attacks does not speak to the French electorate.
About the Author
An Australian immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave has been blogging since early 2003.Filed Under: General
You crack me up Dave… but I am getting quite tense with whats happening in the world.
In my opinion these pretendet bombing attacks are not really a good idea of the IDF, even if I understand it well that the israli soldiers are angry with the troups from UNIFIL. Specially the french one who also in the past didn’t do well in UN missions (Sarajevo..etc) and don’t do much against the violation of hisbollah in south libanon, but they also didn’t do anything against the air violation from israel. So in fact what would the IDF get with that pretend attack? that now french people and military dissmiss the IDF even more and think that they are really cruel without any respect to non juives humans?? The attack or what ever it was against the german boats and helicopter was may be a good think at the end, cause so it came out that the german goverment was liing to the parlament about the real posibility and rights of the german navy in that mission. And suddenly the germans after same talks with lebanon and israel are now allowed to control in the 6 mile range and control ships without asking the lebanon( at the moment). But still it could may be been done in another way, Germans can be talked to?? Specially cause germans population take the german role in these UNIFL mission quite sirious. And if you look in german newspapers and french newspapers, you see a big diffrence about the way how they talk about israel, IDF etc… So some of those needless use of force doesn’t make a positive sense for me, cause I do not believe, that Israel will be able to live once in peace like other european countries if they only believe in their millitary shows.
And what would you think of if the french, spanish and who ever there is would shood around not on your airplains or just pretend to attack them?? Without any menace of their side? The past has shown that the IDF doesn’t care too much about UN-Soldiers life in their control positions, so that the goverments are a little bit angry and concerned after that, is normal?? It is their job to protect their soldiers and if IDF already pretend to shoot in “Peace”… What will happen in future when hisboolla attacks again?? Every goverment would be angry after such an attack. So why you wonder about it?? And do you really think, that french soldiers are now after that attack willing to work harder against hisbolla??
Pomme, what didn’t you understand about this part of the article:
Dave, new relevant book just out: Betrayal: France, the Arabs and the Jews. Perfect timing.
Shy Guy
that is ok that the IDF needs to fly over south Libanon to get some news aboiut whatever happens thereBut I do not think that they see more if they pretdend to bomb an french UNIFIL Post. So I just ask cause I’minteressting what somebody from Israel think about it. Cause I think it was only made to make some troubles or o show of ?? And then I think a little bit more diciplin in the army wouldn’t be that bad. Do you really think that the pilotes needed that mock bombing to see more of hisbolah?? If not I wonder why you think that such an action is great and why you are not critical against your own troops??
You’re absolutely right, if you’re correct. That’s a big “if”.
I don’t think the IDF would risk their expensives planes and talented pilots just to put on a stunt show for France in S. Lebanon.
My guess is they were doing actual dry runs over enemy territory targets, where France and others presently are located. The IAF did this over Southern Beirut 2 weeks or so ago as well.
I will, however, admit that there’s one new very brave French officer today!
I just heard on the morning news that the above-mentioned French officer has been arrested. I’ll also try not to draw any conclusions without knowing the facts. Fair, Pomme?
Shy Guy
More news from Fwance.
Buy the just-published book Betrayal: France, the Arabs, and the Jews, David Pryce-Jones.
And do you really think that your talended pilots did not know that under their expensives planes some French troops are. And if they just wanna do a dry run, why don’t they do it over an israely desrt? For a dry training run their is no need of a UN troop under it, or are the talented pilots are already training to shoot UN troops cause of wrong maps? It wouldn’t harm anybody and not violate the UN resolution to do your dry runs of your own country. Tthis is just a show of the israel military power that produce more inutil hate aganst them. Then I wonder why you like that? To fly over Lebanon to check the enemy whatever, nobody realy did care of it before (besides some talks from the french). The only think I wonder here is that you do not see any think wrong on your military.
To the policeman what i could read in the french newspaper it seems to be clear that he worked in self defence. So i hope that will be cleared soon and he can go home.
No – Hizbullah terror attacks against Israel do not make French UNIFIL soldiers feel threatened. Israeli planes flying over doing pretend bombing raids does make them feel threatened.
The problem is not the French electorate, it’s the ridiculous rule (I don’t know if it’s to do with 1701 or not) that you can shoot at what makes you feel nervous. What if I don’t like redheads? they make me feel threatened in my Gallic masculinity?
[...] be stationed as monitors, the Times reported. That’d be good. The French could supply the white flags, Turkey the prison guards, while Fatah man the revolving [...]