starts, Austrians pack up tents
According to Israel HaYom, the Austria's are turning tail and pulling out of Syria where they were charged with maintaining a buffer zone between the Syrians and Israel. (http://tinyurl.com/lv5zryp)
"Danger to Austrian soldiers has risen to an unacceptable level," says its chancellor.
This is not the first time the Blue Bonnets have abandoned their mission. (On May 16, 1967 Nasser ordered a withdrawal of the United Nations Emergency Forces (UNEF) stationed on the Egyptian-Israeli border, thus removing the international buffer between Egypt and Israel which had existed since 1957. http://tinyurl.com/ks22dfg )
According to the Jewish Press, Israel Minister of Strategic and Intelligence Affairs Yuval Steinintz (Likud) said that the lesson is very clear, “In any peace agreement, Israel cannot rely on international forces, but only on IDF soldiers.” He added that South Lebanon, under the UN’s watch, now has 40,000 missiles embedded there pointed at Israel. The UN did nothing to stop it. (http://tinyurl.com/l46hu2g )
UNDOF Peacekeepers on the Golan (UN Photo)
Meanwhile, as the Austrians get ready to retreat to increasingly Muslim Europe, the Philippines said today (7 Jun 2013) it still was studying whether to pull its UN peacekeeping force out of the Golan Heights, after the wounding of a Filipino soldier and the withdrawal of Austrian troops there. (http://tinyurl.com/mtmn9my )
Japan and Croatia already pulled out. Fiji has promised some replacement troops but they have not yet arrived. (http://tinyurl.com/jvlavsk )
India also has troops serving in the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which has monitored a ceasefire between Israel and Syria since 1974. So far, there has been no reports of an Indian departure. (ibid.)
Granted, the Blue Bonnets were supposed to maintain the ceasefire between Syria and Israel, and as long as Assad was in total control, the border was less or more quiet. Now that his control is shared by rebels and Hamas and with terrorists (Hezbollah) Syria's internal war - hardly a "civil war" since there are many non-Syrians involved) - is spilling over Israeli, Turkish, and Jordanian borders. Lebanon has been a Syrian outpost for years and no longer counts as an independent nation.
It IS interesting to note that (apparently) there are NO Arab League nations involved in trying to stem the Sunni-Shiite war within Syria's borders.
According to The Arab League Web presence (http://tinyurl.com/7hfjwqz ), "The Arab League comprises of 22 members. The members are Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Tunisia, Algeria, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Somalia, Iraq, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Comoros, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritiana and Yemen. The League is involved in political, economic, cultural and social programs to promote the interests of the member states. It has successfully settled some Arab disputes. It played a crucial role in limiting conflicts like the Lebanese civil war of 1958."
One has to wonder about the League's ability at "limiting conflicts" giving the conditions of several of its member states (currently including Algeria, Egypt, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Somalia, Sudan, and Tunisia).
Jordan, abutting Syria, wisely is keeping its troops at home as it faces discontent of its own. Turkey, not yet a League member state, also has reason to keep its troops within its borders as the natives become restless.
Given the number of so-called Palestinians in Syria and the fact that the Palestinian Authority is armed by the U.S., one has to wonder why Mahmoud Abbas, a/k/a terrorist Abu Mazen, doesn't send his troops into Syria to either (a) separate the warring factions or (b) extricate the "Palestinians" from the field of battle. "Palestine" is, after all, a League member.
Perhaps Obama and John McCain will decide the U.S. should send troops into Syria - but on whose side? - since, as Obama claims, the war in Afghanistan is winding down and what can he do with all these troops except send them into yet another winless war for a people who loath Americans. (Who said the Dems and GOP couldn't agree on anything.)
Maybe the Austrians are right after all. If the Muslims of the Arab League are afraid to enter the fray, why should the Austrians? Why should the UN (Useless Nobodies) hang around.
If the "rebels" gain control, Israel can expect to be attacked.
If Assad survives Israel will be forced to eliminate the Russian missiles due in 2014 while preventing any more weapons transfer to Hezbollah.
For Israel, it is a lose-lose situation, but at least Israel's politicians have - so far - had sufficient intelligence to stay out of Syria's internal war.
