WH Gives Blessing to Italy to Lead UNIFIL; France Expands to Two Battalions

The expanded UNIFIL force is finally beginning to take shape. France announced today that it will greatly increase the size of the contingent and Italy said it had won U.S. blessing for its leadership of the force on Thursday.

Italian PM Romano Prodi said President Bush had told him by telephone of his "positive" view of Italy's offer to lead the force. He added that Bush was also leaning on allies to offer troops.

Western diplomatic sources in the Middle East had said that France was willing to provide the equivalent of one battalion to UNIFIL, however, President Jacques Chirac has announced he will deploy two battalions. France, which was initially expected to lead the peace force, sent 200 soldiers last week to join the 2,000-strong UNIFIL force. Italy is willing to send up to 3,000 troops provided Israel observes the truce and other European governments join in.

UPDATE 08/24 @ 15:30: President Chirac has just completed an address to the nation. The full text of his remarks is below the fold.

UPDATE 08/24 @ 17:38: President Bush has released a statement "welcoming President Chirac's decision" and "applaud[ing] the decision of France, as well as the significant pledges from Italy and our other important allies."

PRESIDENT CHIRAC (Through Translator): My dear compatriots, most of you are back at work or getting ready to go back to work. And this summer was dominated by the crisis in Lebanon.

And it is on this crisis and the efforts that France has made in order to achieve peace that I would like to talk to you about this evening.

Today, a special council meeting was organized in order to talk about the modalities and the peace in Lebanon. The war led to enormous suffering and destruction in that country, which historically is so close to us and in this region which is so vulnerable.

And this is why France has committed itself to help the populations, committed itself to repatriate those of our compatriots who wish to return home, and committed ourselves to end the fighting.

Resolution 1701, which was adopted on the initiative of France, and unanimously by the U.N. Security Council, led to a cease-fire, which however remains fragile.

This resolution affirms Israel's right to security, in the same way that Lebanon also is to achieve full sovereignty on its own territory.

This resolution also decided to strengthen UNIFIL in order to control the cessation of hostilities and to support the deployment of the Lebanese army in the south of the country as the Israeli army retires.

And because of the urgency of the matter and to encourage this movement, I decided last week, initially, to double the number of our contingents within UNIFIL.

Furthermore, the 1,700 French soldiers of the naval units are, naturally, maintained.

We had to respond to the emergency. And, also, we had to create the conditions for an efficient and safe operation.

It was my responsibility to obtain a number of guarantees from the parties to the conflicts, as from the United Nations. From Lebanon and Israel, we obtained the assurance that the forces in question would be able to fulfill their mission on the ground.

I also asked the secretary-general of the U.N. to ensure that sort of force would be in a position to be as safe as possible.

We obtained the necessary clarifications from the U.N. on the chain of command, which needs to be simple, coherent and reactive and the rules of engagement that must guarantee the freedom of movement of the force and its ability to operate when confronted with hostile conditions.

This force, of course, has to be put in place. However, it has to be based on the fair repetition of forces in place.

I have convinced my counterparts to do so, and many of our several partners are going to do so, as well as many important Muslim countries and Asia. And I hope there's other permanent members of the security council will also commit themselves on the ground.

Today, the conditions put forward by France have been fulfilled, therefore, I've decided to respond favorably to the request of the secretary general of the U.N. and of the Lebanese and Israeli governments.

Two additional battalions will extend on the ground our forces within the UNIFIL. Two thousand French forces, therefore, will be based under the command of UNIFIL in Lebanon.

France, if the U.N. wishes so, is ready to continue to command that force. And within six months, we will review the situation, depending on how the situation goes on the ground, and the objective of France's commitments is peace. Through the 1701 resolution, the international community has unanimously fixed the principles of a durable solution to this crisis.

The Israeli soldiers that were kidnapped, the return of the Lebanese prisoners, and also the Shebaa Farms in particular, and the disarmament of the militias, which should be carried out under a Lebanese mechanism. And, also, the return of the refugees should be facilitated and forces of solidarity should be encouraged in order to rebuild Lebanon.

An international conference should be organized and France is working in order to organize such a conference.

My dear compatriots, we are determined that France should be active in service of peace and stability. And today I am convinced that French forces can be deployed efficiently. We are in a situation, a very difficult situation. We all understand this.

And France will fully accept its responsibilities in Lebanon. The government will present a declaration in parliament, followed by a debate on this issue.

And once again I call upon the international community to contribute to this indispensable effort in order to achieve peace in Lebanon and in the Middle East in general.

END