The "Peacekeepers" Ploy

The Volokh Conspiracy has the definitive story about why Israel does not trust UN Peacekeepers, a tale in which UN peacekeepers stood by and watched while IDF soldiers were abducted from the Israeli side of the border and later murdered. The UN personnel observing the attack videotaped some of the goings-on, but later denied the tape exsisted. Then it really gets ugly:

Nine months after the kidnapping, July 6, 2001, the UN admitted that is had the videotape. Annan ordered an internal UN Report, which was led by UN undersecretary-General Joseph Connor. (Connor was later implicated in the Oil-for-Food scam.) The report revealed that the UN had two additional videotapes—one of which contained still photographs from the kidnapping itself. The UN investigation declared that there was no evidence that the UNIFIL forces had been bribed, or that the UN had deliberately misled anyone.

Even after admitting the existence of the first videotape, Annan refused to allow Israel to view it. He claimed that letting Israel see evidence about the kidnapping would undermine the UN’s neutrality. Thus, Annan insisted on neutrality between innocent victims and terrorists who had used fake UN insignia and who had taken vehicles from UN staff a gunpoint.

The United States House of Representatives, on July 30, 2001, passed by a vote of 411-4 a resolution urging the UN to allow Israel to see the videotape. Annan relented, but only under the condition that the tape be edited so as to hide the faces of the Hezbollah perpetrators...

And the world, led by Europe, wants Israel to leave Hezbollah alone and let the UN send back these type of "peacekeepers"? Ralph Peters makes two good points:

* The "world community" wants a cease-fire - which would only benefit the terrorists. Hezbollah would claim (accurately) that it had withstood Israel's assault. Couldn't get a better terrorist recruiting advertisement.

* A cease-fire would be under U.N. auspices. Gee, thanks. No U.N. force would protect Israel's interests, but plenty of U.N. contingents would cooperate with or turn a blind eye to the terrorists. Think Russia's an honest broker? Ask its Jews who fled to Israel. Would French troops protect Israeli interests? Ask the Jews Vichy bureaucrats packed off to the death camps. (The French are more anti-Semitic than the Germans - just less efficient.)

Summation: Those whom call for a cease-fire are those that want Hezbollah to stay in existence to continue its fight against Israel. Hezbollah has none of the far-fetched claims on Israeli territory that even the Palestinians cling to (save for the Sheeba Farms fallacy); their only goal is the destruction of Israel. Those who call loudest for a cease-fire are those who hold Hezbollah's dream closest to their heart....