The Associated Press says that the Trump administration's achieved another great foreign policy victory.
UN council approves cut in Lebanon peacekeepers as US sought
Paragraph 1 and 2 of 24:
The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Friday cutting the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon and expanding its mandate to address U.S. and Israeli concerns about activities of the militant group Hezbollah in the area.
The French-drafted resolution reduced the troop ceiling for the force, known as UNIFIL, from 15,000 to 13,000 under U.S. pressure.
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The resolution gives the United States a symbolic victory, but it almost certainly will also be welcomed by many countries that view UNIFIL as critical to maintaining peace in the volatile region and strongly support its current mandate which is largely maintained for another year.
“Today we halt a long period of Council complacency on UNIFIL and the growing and destabilizing influence of Iran and its client, the terrorist organization Hezbollah,” U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft said in a statement after the vote.
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According to UNIFIL, it currently has about 10,250 troops including more than 9,400 ground troops and over 850 naval personnel assigned to its Maritime Task Force. In addition, the mission has about 900 civilian staff, both international and national.
Before the mandate renewal UNIFIL had 4,750 fewer troops than the mandate allowed for. It now will have 2,750 fewer troops than it mandate allows.
There were additional minor changes to the mandate which will also have zero practical consequences. To achieve this great victory the Trump administration had threatened to veto the mandate renewal and to end the funding for UNIFIL.
France, which had the lead on the mandate rewrite, found that funny:
"Veto and then what? They will deploy 10,000 marines to replace UNIFIL?" a senior French diplomat told me.
It was an empty threat by the Trump administration but it led to an outcome that can be sold to the domestic fan base as great victory even as it changed nothing.
I for one find this kind of foreign policy action great. No one was hurt by it. Nothing got damaged. All involved got what they wanted.
Shouldn't we wish for more of this kind of policy?