Inaction imperils cease-fire, UN says

UNITED NATIONS -- UN officials warned yesterday that the cease-fire in Lebanon is in danger of collapsing unless countries come forward to contribute troops to an expanded peacekeeping force by the end of the month.

``This is all very fragile," said Stephane Dujarric, the chief United Nations spokesman said yesterday as UN officials postponed a key meeting on peacekeeping because the world body was still trying to get troop pledges. ``We need a bulkhead very quickly to shore up what has already been achieved."

UN efforts to expand the current force of 2,000 peacekeepers in Lebanon to 15,000 after the 34-day war have foundered since France dramatically scaled back its pledge last week to 200 soldiers, US and UN officials said. France had been widely expected to lead the mission and send several thousand soldiers. After the French announcement, few European countries have come forward to pledge troops.

Analysts said the reluctance to send troops underscores how difficult it will be to secure a buffer zone between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah without getting pulled into the conflict.

``The French and others are realizing, perhaps more clearly than they were in the midst of the negotiations, how perilous the mission is," said Robert Malley, Middle East program director at the International Crisis Group, a global think tank. ``There is not going to be a way to stop Israel from conducting operations or to prevent Hezbollah from retaining the means to attack Israel."

Efforts to assemble any peacekeeping mission often face difficulties, as countries resist putting their troops in harm's way. But the mission in Lebanon, where Hezbollah attacks killed 58 French paratroopers and 241 US citizens in 1983, has experienced unforeseen problems. France, which led negotiations on the Security Council resolution that authorized the new force, now says it is confused about the force's role and the rules that will govern it.

``We want the United Nations to define more clearly the missions, chain of command . . . to whom it is to report, and the rules of operation," Philippe Douste-Blazy , minister of foreign affairs, told broadcast outlet RTL on Sunday.

But UN officials say the rules of engagement were clearly established and distributed to nations last week. The rules have not been released, but excerpts from a leaked copy of the 21-page document in the French newspaper Le Monde yesterday suggest that the UN force would monitor the cease-fire, not take action to disarm the military group Hezbollah. That task is left to the Lebanese government.

According to Le Monde, the peacekeepers would not seek out Hezbollah arms caches but could seize the arms if they found them during the course of other duties. Le Monde said that the force would be authorized to prevent hostile activities in a buffer zone in southern Lebanon and to ``protect civilians in immediate threat."

Malley said the force could not prevent Israel or Hezbollah from violating the cease-fire, but its presence could make such an attack more difficult to get away with, since it would be clearly observed and documented.

A French military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said France decided to send only 200 troops after it came under pressure from Israel to lead a force that ``would finish the job [Israel] was trying to do, namely to disarm Hezbollah." It has been widely reported that France's military establishment prompted France's Foreign Ministry to backtrack on pledges.

France's reluctance has angered US diplomats, who worked long, late-night hours with France's UN ambassador to bring about the Aug. 11 resolution to halt the fighting.

``I can't emphasize enough the French miscues and overpromises, how much that has affected other countries who are trying to decide whether or not they are trying to be a part of the force," said a US official who closely follows the diplomatic efforts at the UN, also speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. ``There is much confusion from the UN community as to who is going to lead this and when they are going to go in."

On Monday, President Bush said he hoped France would contribute more troops. Mark Malloch-Brown, the UN deputy secretary general, also told reporters that the UN was disappointed by France's contribution.

Last Thursday, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia -- which do not have relations with Israel -- and Nepal were the only countries out of 49 nations at the UN meeting that day to offer to send mechanized infantry battalions. Israel has refused to allow peacekeepers from countries that do not recognize the Jewish state, complicating efforts to find Muslim countries to contribute to the force.

Among the Europeans, German diplomats have said they would be willing to send ships, customs police, and border guards, but not troops. Germany does not want its troops to put in the position of confronting Israelis, who created the Jewish state in the aftermath of the Holocaust.

Amid these difficulties, UN officials cancel ed a technical meeting scheduled for yesterday in New York with potential contributors of troops. Dujarric said the UN was still holding one-on-one discussions with countries that might contribute to the force.

But UN spokesmen said that Secretary General Kofi Annan was still optimistic that he could get a force of 3,500 troops deployed by the end of the month, and then thousands more in the coming two or two months. Tomorrow, Italy's prime minister, Romano Prodi , is due to meet Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Rome. UN officials hope that Italy will formally announce after that meeting that it will take the lead in the peacekeeping operation and contribute up to 3,000 troops.

But Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema told the Italian newspaper Republica that Italy won't send troops unless Israel begins to ``respect the cease-fire." He apparently was referring to a raid deep into Lebanon that Israel conducted over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials warned that the conflict could begin again if peacekeepers do not arrive soon. ``The cease-fire is fragile and makes for fears about a resumption of fighting, as long as the Lebanese Army and international force are not deployed in southern Lebanon," government spokesman Avi Pazner said.

Stockman reported from Washington; Lauria from the UN. Material from Associated Press was used in this report.