Lebanon's force for good - Editorials & Commentary - International Herald Tribune

Lebanon's force for good - Editorials & Commentary - International Herald Tribune:

In the summer of 1998, I was an infantry soldier in the Israel Defense Forces. Preparing for an operation in southern Lebanon, my platoon received some unusual orders: No one, under any circumstance, was to open fire. This was a significant departure from our standard rules of engagement, which permitted firing upon sight at Hezbollah forces. The apparent reason was that representatives of the United States, France, Israel, Lebanon and Syria were in the area that day for a meeting of the Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group.

In 2000, I interviewed Israel- Lebanon Monitoring Group delegates, who spoke about their work with enthusiasm. They told me of times when, after particularly egregious episodes of violence, the group was able to initiate immediate back-channel contacts that staved off reprisals, and they recalled how Israeli, Lebanese and Syrian military officers formed personal bonds of trust. When an Israeli general's term on the monitoring group ended, he told me, his counterparts gave their final farewells with tears in their eyes.