July 24, 2006
Nations Reluctant to Commit Troops to Lebanon
By ELAINE SCIOLINO and STEVEN ERLANGER
PARIS, July 24 Support is building quickly for an international military force to be placed in southern Lebanon, but there remains a small problem: where will the troops come from?
The United States has ruled out its soldiers participating, NATO says it is overstretched, Britain feels its troops are overcommitted and Germany says it is willing to participate only if Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia which it would police, agrees to it, a highly unlikely development.
All the politicians are saying, Great, great to the idea of a force, but no one is saying whose soldiers will be on the ground, said one senior European official. Everyone will volunteer to be in charge of the logistics in Cyprus.
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