And …. as usual, praise and glory for a mission that failed right from the beginning.
The Pozzuolo del Friuli Cavalry Brigade arrives in Shama, South Lebanon, to take over from the Friuli Airborne Brigade within the UNIFIL mission.
In a picture of general and irrefutable failure and of the evidence of the non-achievement of the objectives foreseen by the Resolution 1701, the statements of the UNIFIL Commander, Del Col, are particularly interesting, according to which “the Italian peacekeepers “have worked with enthusiasm to establish an excellent understanding with the local authorities and day after day have improved the relations between UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces by carrying out joint operational and training activities with them. In addition, the important number of civil and military cooperation and gender equity activities have made the Blue Helmets acquire the unanimous consensus of the institutions and the local population, as also recently recognized by the Secretary General of the United Nations”.
Siti e postazioni Hezbollah
More or less the same words expressed by the former Chief of Army Staff Gen. Farina and reported by Difesa.it on February 3, 2021, according to which “The consolidated success of the UNIFIL mission is due to the dedication, sacrifice, sense of duty and responsibility of each peacekeeper, but especially to the extraordinary ability of dialogue and interaction of the Italian military with all components of society in the diverse mosaic of Lebanon.
Consolidated success?
The UNIFIL mission has not been and is not a success. It is a fact.
Del Col, Farina and all those who claim this are contradicted by facts, by the situation in the theater and by the establishment of a military power such as Hezbollah. But above all, they are belied by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Guterres, who in November 2019 allegedly stated that “UNIFIL is unable to complete its mission in the area controlled by Hezbollah.”
South Lebanon controlled by Hezbollah (!).
In 2020, Guteress also has admitted that “The maintenance of unauthorized weapons outside of state control by Hezbollah and other non-state armed groups is a persistent violation of resolution 1701 (2006) and is of grave concern” and continued by calling on “the Government of Lebanon to take all necessary actions to ensure full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords and resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), which call for the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon so that there are no weapons or authorities in Lebanon other than those of the Lebanese state,”
The situation in the theater, plastically represented by Guterres, is the exact opposite of what the praises of the Italian military leadership make transpire.
Paragraph 4 of Resolution 1701 reads “stresses the importance of the extension of the control of the Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory in accordance with the provisions of Resolution 1559 (2004) and Resolution 1680 (2006), and the related provisions of the Taif Accords, so that it exercises its full sovereignty, so that there will be no weapons without the consent of the Government of Lebanon”.
Paragraph 14 :the Government of Lebanon to protect its borders and other points of entry to prevent weapons or related material from entering Lebanon without its consent and requires UNIFIL as authorized in paragraph 11 to assist the Government of Lebanon at its request.
On the occasion of the turnover of the Italian units, the Chief of Chief of Defense Staff, Admiral Cavo Dragone, drew a balance of the six-month mandate of the multinational contingent led brigade “Friuli”, praising “the exceptional work done to achieve the objectives during the mission that, despite the Covid, has been fulfilled with excellent results, providing assistance and support to the armed forces and the Lebanese people.”
So, Since 2006 Hezbollah has become a military power and has heavy armaments such as Russian anti-tank Kornet-Es, RPG-29 and Fagot 9K111 and American TOW missile systems and the M40 106 mm guns without recoil and of course, rockets and missiles also of the type fateh 110 (Iranian road-mobile single-stage solid-fueled surface-to-surface missile) positioned on fixed and mobile platforms on crawlers dangerously aimed at Israel, militarily controls the South of Lebanon, holds in check and blackmail UNIFIL that uses as an umbrella to its trafficking of weapons and drugs, how can you say that UNIFIL (an/or Italian troops) have been fulfilled the objectives of the mission? .
The Italian soldiers do their job excellently and this is unquestionable, but in light of the situation on the theater, what are the objectives achieved by UNIFIL according to what Italian military leaders say?
The question that arises spontaneously is: who is benefiting from all this and who is gaining besides the terrorists?
ms