Australian Prime Minister John Howard has said Hezbollah must be disarmed if the UN truce in Lebanon is to last.
Mr Howard said the UN Security Council resolution to end hostilities was not specific enough and needed a clear authority to disarm Hezbollah.
He also said he was undecided about whether Australia would send troops to support a UN peacekeeping mission in the Middle East.
He added that any Australian deployment would likely be very limited.
"If we were to make a decision to make a commitment, it would be a very small, niche commitment," Mr Howard told reporters in Sydney. "We have other responsibilities."
Australia has about 500 troops in Afghanistan and more than 1,300 troops in and around Iraq.
Doubts raised
Mr Howard said he had serious concerns about whether the UN-brokered truce between Israel and Hezbollah could last.
"It looks good on the surface but I am, myself, a little discomfited by the lack of specificities and the language regarding the disarming of Hezbollah," the prime minister said.
"Unless there's a clear determination and a clear authority to disarm Hezbollah this isn't going to work.
"I have real and serious reservations about the effectiveness and the lasting character of this resolution," Mr Howard added.
Limited mandate
The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah is due to come into force at 0500 GMT on Monday.
The UN resolution, drafted by the US and France, says Hezbollah must stop attacks on Israel and calls for the disarmament of armed groups in Lebanon.
But French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy has said the mandate of the expanded UN force would not include disarming Hezbollah.
Im Always Right,Its Like,When Im Right,Im Right,And When Im Wrong,I Could've Been Right,So Im Still Right,'Cause I Could've Been Wrong!
Does anyone doubt the validity of the statement “Hezbollah must be disarmed if the UN truce in Lebanon is to last”?
Surely everyone agrees that there will be no lasting peace between Israel and Lebanon with an armed loose cannon like Hezbollah on the scene.
I too would not want to put my people in harms way, for a short term, sure to fail, goal. It makes no sense.
Thanks
Nimrod
How can a cannon be disarmed? :P
More seriously though, its unfair to think of Hezbollah as the loose cannon here.
Remember that the view of Israel as a legitimate and peaceful state is not one shared by its neighbours due its aggressive action across the Middle East.
Hezbollah are a peoples movement with a hugely popular civilian arm that presents welfare services to the Lebanese public.
There will be no lasting peace until Israel stops occupying land and acting aggressively. Remove the source of the problem and the problem goes away. It's simple as long as you keep in mind the history of events since Israel's conception.
The "army" of the U.N. is made up of the member nations. Unfortunately, since the member nations can't agree on anything, the chances of a viable military force enforcing resolutions isn't high.
The "army" of the U.N. is made up of the member nations. Unfortunately, since the member nations can't agree on anything, the chances of a viable military force enforcing resolutions isn't high.
Thats not good when the nations disagree on un army.... The reason is because the wars and conflicts in the world are endless!! :grumbling
^Howard is a bum. Today he was trying to pass a bill for all immigrants to be deported offshore and have their future decided there instead of them coming here directly.
If you would really like to see how Muslims keep it real, click onMVand you'll see
HA HA HA HA HA and what do you the US response would be? Do you think any delegate of the UN would be able to make it out of NY? we pay 25% of the operation costs of the UN. If they decided they wanted to nuke or even challenge us where would they get that extra money from?
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