Delusions often take place as a result of false inferences, and lead to conclusions that have nothing to do with reality. Among these delusions are those endorsed by some Lebanese (including officials, unfortunately), regarding the function of the UNIFIL peacekeeping troops in the south, as stipulated by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. After the recent clashes and the dispute between the UNIFIL and the “people” in the south, it appeared there were misconceptions regarding the work of these troops: That UNIFIL is obliged to coordinate with the Lebanese Army in its work and movements on the ground. However, after the attacks on UNIFIL, the Lebanese government was obliged to issue a declaration affirming its concern for the safety of international troops, and stressing the importance of their role, based on UNSC resolution 1701. The government quickly sent a document detailing this stance to Ambassador Nawaf Salam, Beirut's representative at the Security Council, which discussed the situation in the south and issued a statement that was endorsed by all of its members (including Lebanon), calling on all parties to “ensure that the freedom of movement of UNIFIL remains respected in conformity with its mandate and its rules of engagement” in the south. For whoever opted not to thoroughly read the text of UNSC resolution 1701, or opted to understand it in his or her own way, the French ambassador to the UN, Gérard Araud, said the margin of maneuver for UN troops in the south should be absolute, and that while coordination with the Lebanese Army is something that is welcomed, it is not mandatory. Among the delusions that have also prevailed in Lebanon in the wake of the Israeli offensive of the summer of 2006 is that Lebanon had emerged “victorious” as a result of this war. It is a delusion with no corroboration for it on the ground, and is a delusion also given the human and material losses suffered by the country, or at the level of the security arrangements south of the Litani River, which is what we are talking about here. At the time, the government tried, with all of its diplomatic capabilities, to halt the Israeli offensive by boosting the number of UN troops to 13000, in addition to an increase in Lebanese Army units and their deployment in this region, after decades of absence. The government also agreed on the need to keep the areas where the army and the UNIFIL operate free of any other armed presence, whether in terms of personnel or ammunition. At the time, this enjoyed the endorsement of all groups, including Hezbollah, which allowed the Security Council to increase the number of troops and deploy them to the border area. In other words, the practical implementation on the ground of the delusion of “victory” that has prevailed in Lebanon in the last four years, involved removing forces that used to fight Israel away from its borders, while Israeli forces remained in their positions on the border, in addition to the establishment of a no-man's land north of the Israeli border, extending 40 kilometers into Lebanon. This is the region that the Israelis feel constitutes a threat to their settlements, and which the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL are tasked with ensuring is free of weapons, based on the provisions of resolution 1701. This is what has happened, but the “people” were later told that the UNIFIL troops came to the south to prevent an Israeli offensive. This is true, but it is only half of the mission. The other half involves preventing the use of the area of UNIFIL operations to ignite a new war. If it were not for these mistaken readings, and the media's rush to play the “patriotic” card, the political and military authorities in Lebanon (the government and the Army command) would not have been obliged to fully backtrack, over seven days. This does not enhance the credibility of a country that is currently a member of the Security Council, and does not enhance its dignity among the world's nations. A high-ranking state official said, immediately after the events in the south, that even if the army itself did what UNIFIL troops did, the “people” would confront it with protests! This official was talking about the army of his own country! Meanwhile, the Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji was quoted by An-Nahar newspaper as accusing UNIFIL troops of having Israeli lists with the names of homeowners in the south, to search for hidden weapons, ignoring the fact that statements like these do not help bolster the required trust in the UN troops. He also ignored the fact that the mission of the troops requires that they prevent any non-state weapons from being present in this region, and that they can receive any similar complaints from the Lebanese about Israeli violations of 1701, and it is their duty to investigate them. However, the Army commander himself later said, after the issue reached the Security Council, that “igniting incidents in the south was a mistake,” and acknowledged the negative consequences for Lebanon.
