Irish troops in Lebanon ‘face hostile resistance’

IF Irish troops are sent to police the ceasefire in Lebanon they will be greeted by an unprecedentedly hostile local resistance, according to the Peace And Neutrality Alliance.

The chair of PANA, Roger Cole, says any decision to send troops to the Middle East will take the country into a war with Hezbollah and end any lingering claims Ireland has to neutrality.

He said: “People should not be under any illusions: by sending troops we are taking a step forward in terms of what we have done before and we are effectively going to war with the Lebanese resistance.

“If you commit Irish soldiers to go to war in the Lebanon you are asking Irish people if they want to die for George Bush.”

PANA argues that the war in Iraq and the use of Shannon by the United States military has changed the perception of Irish troops abroad.

Mr Cole, who visited Palestine last month, says that even under the banner of the United Nations, Irish soldiers will not enjoy the same privileged status as they did during previous spells in Lebanon.

He said: “This State made a fundamental decision when it decided to allow Shannon to be used by US troops and, under the Hague Convention of 1907 ... this is no longer a neutral country.

“People in the Middle East will see us as an active supporter of Bush and Blair and people on the receiving end of it will not see Irish troops as they saw them before.”

Mr Cole says PANA’s national executive has already decided to crank up its campaign against the use of Shannon and it is determined to make it an issue ahead of the next general election.

“Fianna Fáil will not be able to make a majority government so it is going to have to rely on smaller parties. The Green Party is affiliated to PANA and if Fianna Fáil are talking about going into coalition with them then this is going to be a big issue and the converse is also true for Fine Gael and the Labour Party,” he said.

Meanwhile the Department of Defence says that despite the UN expressing disappointment at the low level of troops countries are committing to the region the Government will not be making any rash decisions.