Europe's Collective Inaction in Lebanon

It certainly sounded like Europe was ready to muster a significant part of an international peacekeeping force in south Lebanon. European Union foreign policy czar Javier Solana said on Aug. 13 that, within "a very, very short time," 4,000 of the planned 15,000-strong force of international troops would be in the [an error occurred while processing this directive] region. "You can be sure that the E.U. is with you," he had said the previous day in Beirut.

But last week, Europe — particularly France — took a closer look at the situation and effectively gulped in horror. A defiant Hizballah said it had no intention of handing over its arms. The rules of engagement under which the international force would act remain "fuzzy," French Defense Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie insisted, to worried nods of agreement from other European capitals.

Until those rules get clarified, European countries are torn between a commitment to the U.N. peacekeeping process and grave concerns that they are sending their soldiers into what one Elysée official called "a dangerous, difficult and maybe even unhelpful situation."

For the moment, Europe seems to be taking a back seat to Asia. Mark Malloch Brown, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, said the U.N. had commitments for 3,500 additional troops to deploy within the next two weeks, with firm promises from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nepal. But Europe will likely get on board soon.

On Friday, Italy's government formally agreed to participate once there are precise rules of engagement. "We don't hide the difficulties," said Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema, "but our country has to respond to the United Nations' appeal." Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has argued that Turkey cannot risk being sidelined in its own region, as it was in Iraq, and should therefore send troops to Lebanon. Spain and Belgium both await a clarification of the mandate, while Germany, unwilling to be placed in a situation where its soldiers could be forced to fire at Israeli soldiers, will send only noncombative forces.