[OG Note: I often think nothing can surprise me any more and that's when something will inevitably pop up to illustrate how I delude myself--like this report.]

Thursday July 12, 5:00 PM

Israel, UN in row over shock Indian bribe allegations to kidnap soldiers

JERUSALEM, July 12 (AFP) -

Israel's war of words with the United Nations escalated Thursday when a newspaper alleged UN peacekeepers allowed Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas to kidnap three Israeli soldiers after being bribed.

A UN official angrily denied the allegations in the Maariv daily, which cited an unnamed "very senior" source who said the militants paid off dozens of Indian members of the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

"This is nonsense and very cheap and I reject it completely," UNIFIL spokesman Timur Goksel said in the Lebanese city of Tyre. "Any unproven allegations are a slander and an insult."

The charges come a day after the "embarrassed" UN's spokesman announced an investigation into the world body's handling of a videotape which may show the Hezbollah militants who abducted the three in October.

"The reason for the inquiry is that, frankly, the organization was embarrassed and its credibility was hurt by what appears to be a mishandling of this event," spokesman Fred Eckhard said in New York.

Maariv said Israeli investigators have already interrogated Indian soldiers in the multinational UNIFIL force patrolling south Lebanon, which was occupied by the Israelis until May 2000.

They allegedly spoke in India to some of the troops who negotiated with the fundamentalist Hezbollah, which paid what the paper said was thousands of dollars to get access to the Israelis in the disputed Shebaa Farms area.

Maariv said senior officers were not thought to be involved.

"There is no doubt that what happened here will shake up the organisation," the paper quoted a senior source close to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as saying.

But Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told army radio: "We must be prudent, and verify what is the case."

There has been no reliable word on the fate of the soldiers, who were abducted in a border area which is claimed by Lebanon but was seized from Syria by the Jewish state in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Hezbollah says Israel's withdrawal from south Lebanon remains incomplete until it evacuates Shebaa, while the United Nations has verified the Israeli withdrawal is complete.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah warned Monday it would consider the United Nations to be "spying for the enemy" if it hands over the 30-minute videotape to Israel.

Until last week UN officials denied the existence of the tape, which was filmed by Indian UNIFIL troops on the day after the October 7 kidnapping and which Israel believes may show Hezbollah guerrillas.

It reportedly shows two blood-stained vehicles thought to be used in the kidnapping, as well as UNIFIL troops being intercepted by armed gunmen, believed by Israel to be the kidnappers or their associates.

UN officials have agreed to let Israel see the tape but only after the faces of the presumed militants have been obscured, a decision which Israel says is simply caving in to pressure from Hezbollah.

"Our invitation to view an edited version of the tape is the secretary general's final offer," spokesman Eckhard said on Wednesday. The UN has denied it refuses to show the whole tape out of safety concerns for UNIFIL troops.

Israel welcomed news of the internal UN inquiry into the handling of the tape but continues to insist on seeing an unedited version.

Israel has long accused the international body of having an anti-Israeli bias, and diplomats say the latest row will further fuel the Jewish state's mistrust.

One diplomat said the case could undercut UN efforts to be an "honest broker" between the conflicting parties in the Middle East conflict.

burs-mc/txw/mb

-- Anonymous, July 12, 2001

Answers

NYPost

THE U.N. TAKES A SIDE

July 13, 2001 --

A videotape that appears to show terrorists impersonating U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon should send shivers down the spine of any nation that offers up its troops for U.N. missions.

The 30-minute tape was made near the site where three Israeli soldiers were abducted by Hezbollah thugs in October. The taping took place 18 hours after the abduction, and what it reportedly shows is downright alarming:

* As U.N. soldiers try to tow vehicles used in the kidnapping to save as evidence, individuals who "seem to belong to the Hezbollah" arrive and forcibly swipe the vehicles and their contents right out of the hands of the soldiers.

* The tape shows "blood stains, U.N. uniforms and forged license plates on the vehicles," according to the official in charge of the Lebanon mission, Jean-Marie Guehenno. Guehenno admits that the footage indicates the kidnappers impersonated peacekeepers.

Incredible!

Only 18 hours after being duped by imposters, the peacekeepers are again caught with their pants down as they try to secure evidence.

Makes you wonder: Are these soldiers - or Keystone Cops?

It gets worse.

For months, the United Nations denied the tape existed. Now it admits it's got it, but won't hand it over unless faces - likely belonging to Hezbollah terrorists linked to the attack - are obscured

Why does the U.N. want to hide the tape and protect terror suspects? To preserve "neutrality," it claims.

Which is, of course, ridiculous.

What good, after all, are peacemakers if they're going to aid and abet one side in the conflict (that of the terrorists, no less!) by withholding evidence of their attacks?

Oh, by the way, Hezbollah has hinted of reprisals if the video is released. The terrorists say they'd view all U.N. soldiers as "spies" for Israel if the tape gets out.

Could it be that the United Nations is running scared? That it won't release the video because it's afraid that it can't protect itself from the terrorists?

If so, then what's it doing putting troops in harm's way in the first place?

Rather than appease thugs, the U.N. ought to be aiding in their capture and releasing the tape - if for no other reason than to protect itself.

After all, if the thugs get away with this, they'll be pushing the United Nations around forever - or until it cries "uncle" and leaves with its tail between its legs.

Meanwhile, U.N. soldiers will become targets, not only of the Hezbollah, but of Israeli - and even other U.N. - troops who might mistake them for terrorist imposters.

If America already is thinking twice about participating in such peacekeeping missions, it may soon need to think three and four times. And, maybe, pull out altogether, rather than send its own troops off to poorly run operations.

Then, too, there are the efforts to locate and rescue the abducted Israelis. Prime Minister Sharon demands the tape be released, unedited. Properly, the United States has backed him. Lawmakers, including New York Sens. Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer, have gone even further.

"I am outraged that the United Nations would withhold evidence of a criminal act," said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn), threatening to block U.S. funds to the world body. Schumer called the U.N. behavior "a desecration of its peacekeeping mission." How true.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian whom the United Nations (and America) treats as a legitimate player in the Mideast, Yasser Arafat, has been out praising terrorists.

Arafat even called the Tel Aviv disco bomber, who killed 20 Israeli teens last month, "the model of manhood and sacrifice," German TV reported.

It's only more proof of the folly of remaining "neutral" when it comes to terrorists and victims.

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2001

Should make it a wee bit more difficult for Arafat to prevail on his demands for UN observers in the area.

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2001

I put a lot of credence in the Jane's report about Israel being ready for all-out war. I mean, Israel is never far from that stage but I believe it's as close to imminent as it can get. All it's going to take is one more outrage, like the deliberate sniper killing of the baby.

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2001