T K Vogel — research & analysis

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was established in 1978 “for the purpose of confirming the withdrawal of Israeli forces, restoring international peace and security and assisting the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area,” according to Security Council resolution 425. The fact that the same force is still needed today, essentially for the same task, does not on the surface seem to recommend the approach chosen 28 years ago. But the force has just been given a new lease on life with Security Council Resolution 1701, which authorizes it to “take all necessary action… to ensure that its area of operations [that is, Southern Lebanon] is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind.”

The resolution was passed on August 11 after much wrangling behind the scenes, the product of classic great-power diplomacy: it was co-sponsored by the United States and France, which promised to deliver their clients in the region, Israel and Lebanon.

But in the event, France couldn’t even deliver itself.

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