Italian Ambassador Comments II: Italian Peacekeepers Don't Seem To Understand Their Job
From the same interview, we realize that no one has bothered to explain to Italy what its job is. As nice as this must be for the Italians...
Italian forces taking part in the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon would retaliate if attacked by Hizbullah or any other armed group in the tiny Mediterranean country, Italy’s Ambassador to Israel Sandro De Bernardin told Ynetnews on Wednesday. "Of course they will respond. They have the right of self-defense," he said. De Bernardin added that the Italian government opted for a generous contribution to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon based on the conviction that stability in the Middle East serves Europe’s security interests.
... that's not really what the concern is. Their job isn't to prevent Hezbollah from attacking UNIFIL - if that was the problem, UNIFIL would just leave. Their job is to prevent Hezbollah from attacking Israel. And so the question isn't whether the Italians will shoot at Hezbollah shoots at them, it's whether the Italians will shoot at Hezbollah when they see Hezbollah crossing the border into Israel to launch an attack. Which they won't, because (a) they're not sure they want to and (b) Hezbollah would decimate them with rockets and anti-tank missiles.
Italian forces taking part in the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon would retaliate if attacked by Hizbullah or any other armed group in the tiny Mediterranean country, Italy’s Ambassador to Israel Sandro De Bernardin told Ynetnews on Wednesday. "Of course they will respond. They have the right of self-defense," he said. De Bernardin added that the Italian government opted for a generous contribution to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon based on the conviction that stability in the Middle East serves Europe’s security interests.
... that's not really what the concern is. Their job isn't to prevent Hezbollah from attacking UNIFIL - if that was the problem, UNIFIL would just leave. Their job is to prevent Hezbollah from attacking Israel. And so the question isn't whether the Italians will shoot at Hezbollah shoots at them, it's whether the Italians will shoot at Hezbollah when they see Hezbollah crossing the border into Israel to launch an attack. Which they won't, because (a) they're not sure they want to and (b) Hezbollah would decimate them with rockets and anti-tank missiles.
