UNIFIL Stays, Despite Being Hit. US Stays Silent, Despite Funding Everything.
According to The New Arab, UNIFIL vows to remain in Lebanon despite repeated (and rather effective) Israeli attacks on its positions. Three incidents in one month, they report. One might expect a stern US condemnation of attacks on UN peacekeepers—an international standard, really. But when funding and diplomatic cover are flowing unconditionally from Washington, such 'incidents' become mere
footnotes. Historically, this isn't new. UNIFIL's mandate in Lebanon has been routinely challenged by Israeli military actions since its inception. Remember the 2006 Lebanon War, when Israeli forces directly targeted UN positions, killing peacekeepers? (The US response at the UN was... conspicuously quiet then, too.) The hypocrisy isn't just in the silence, it's in the full-throated support for
the very entity conducting these attacks. How many UN peacekeeper lives are worth the latest defense aid package, one wonders?