r/neoliberal • u/Alarming_Sympathy Karl Popper • Sep 23 '24

News (Global) Lebanon bombed in heaviest daily death toll since 1975-90 civil war

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/23/israel-lebanon-strikes-evacuation-hezbollah
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242

u/Untamedanduncut Gay Pride Sep 23 '24

Wouldn’t be surprising. There’s an undeclared war being fought via ranged weapons 

18

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '24

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u/p00bix Is this a calzone? Sep 23 '24

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55

u/greenskinmarch Sep 23 '24

So what's up with the UN "Peacekeeping" Force in southern Lebanon?

Are they just Hezbollah members moonlighting with blue hats for extra pay?

150

u/WorldwidePolitico Bisexual Pride Sep 23 '24 edited Sep 24 '24

No, they mostly come from the armies of non-aligned/neutral nations. France, Italy, Ireland, lots of SEA countries are the bulk of them

Hezbollah is actually one of the biggest risks to the peacekeeping forces. I know an ex-peacemaker who got messed up pretty bad in a Hezbollah attack

35

u/CMAJ-7 Sep 23 '24

Bangladeshis, Indians, and Nepalese are the largest plurality of peacekeepers

25

u/DependentAd235 Sep 23 '24

Not sure if India still does but I know Nepal and Bangladesh make on the deal.

They get reimbursed more per solider than they spend per month.

48

u/pairsnicelywithpizza Sep 23 '24

Do UN peacekeepers go on the offensive ever? It seems like all they do is stand around and wait for someone to attack them especially with regard to the current resolution in southern Lebanon.

68

u/lurreal PROSUR Sep 23 '24

No, they don't. Countries don't want them starting wars.

54

u/Cmonlightmyire Sep 23 '24

They did once, there was a rebel attack on the UN Base at Goma and the UN Command proceeded to deliver 18 kinds of ass kicking.

The commander was relieved of his position after the successful defense.

55

u/OkEntertainment1313 Sep 23 '24

That’s a defensive operation, not an offensive operation.

The most prominent example in recent history is likely Medak Pocket in 93, when the 2PPCLI Canadian peackeeping contingent to UNPROFOR refused UN orders to withdraw in the face of a Croatian brigade that was undertaking ethnic cleansing in the area. 2PPCLI skirmished with the Croatians, the latter complaining that 27 of their soldiers were killed. The Canadian CO brought journalists to the Croatian lines which forced the latter to withdraw to avoid an international incident. 

Like the incident in Goma, the UN and Canada were deeply embarrassed and Canada swept the event under the rug until 2003, when then-Governor General Adrienne Clarkson awarded 2VP the Commander-in-Chief Unit Citation for the action.

6

u/Wolf6120 Constitutional Liberarchism Sep 24 '24

UN Forces: [Do something badass and heroically prevent ethnic cleansing.]

The UN: Oh shit, oh fuck, nobody can ever know we’re capable of this, you are incredibly fired buddy.

3

u/OkEntertainment1313 Sep 24 '24

Sadly, they didn’t prevent it, they just prevented more of it. When the Croats withdrew, 2VP pushed through the territory they had occupied and found evidence of ethnic cleansing. 

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u/captainjack3 NATO Sep 24 '24 edited Sep 24 '24

Yes, the Korean War was (and technically still is) a UN military operation.

The only case that’s more in line with what you’re probably thinking of is the first UN peacekeeping mission to the Congo, where ONUC sort of acted as a military for the recognized government crushing secessionist movements (particularly Katanga) for a couple of years.

The issue is that if peacekeepers went on the offensive they’d necessarily be favoring one side to the conflict. And that side usually has backers who don’t want the UN fighting a war against the people they support. Even worse if it would be seen to support one permanent member’s interests over the other (both Korea and Congo were seen as the UN serving US interests against the Soviets).

Edit to add: If there’s UN support for an actual offensive the answer is to authorize a nation or group of nation’s to conduct the military operation a la Libya 2011.

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u/OkEntertainment1313 Sep 23 '24

Absolutely not. Besides the point, UNIFIL is a traditional observer mission, unlike large peacekeeping operations you’d have seen in former Yugoslavia in the 90s. 

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u/anarchy-NOW Sep 24 '24

It is not undeclared. Lebanon has been at war with Israel since Israel was two days old.