The name UNIFIL doesn’t often appear on page one of the mainstream newspapers. For many it was last summers invasion of southern Lebanon that caused the media to even mention that there was an international force wedged between Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah, given the task of ensuring that all sides respect a peace agreement.
Thomas Milo had a very unique roll as one of the only Arabic speakers stationed with the Dutch battalion of UNIFIL back in 1979. We sat together in his kitchen in Amsterdam and he explained what it was like to work everyday between rocks and a hard place.
Links:
UNIFIL website
WIKIPEDIA on UNIFIL
We Discuss:
– What is UNIFIL
-What armies were involved
– The Dutch role and controversy of deployment
– His studies and initial involvement with UNIFIL
– Meetings with the PLO
– The First Suicide bomb belts
– The Senegalese zone
– What progress was made?
– Israeli’s lose patience
– Lebanese reaction and approval
– First kids with Stones, the orgins
– Original Improvised Explosive Devices
– Israeli military Tactics
– Lessons for Soldiers in Iraq
– Response to Americans who criticize peacekeepers as ineffective
I’d like to say it was no big deal and I played it cool, but I was pacing around my room half angry, half nervous, hoping I wouldn’t suddenly contract tourette’s sydrome. (sorry if you’ve got it… ) When my turn came I was determined to leave no spaces in my speech for someone to interrupt. It worked well for about 45 seconds, then – oddly enough – my last words got stepped on by one of the panelists complimenting my statement. Go figure.