GERMANY SEEKS TO UNLOCK PEACE

On CNN Anderson Cooper interviewed Council on Foreign Relations member Lee Feinstein about the Force that must be on the Israeli-Lebanon border.

lee says this UNIFIL force is useless, and this un lead force they want to bring in now is UNIFIL on steroids. He says unless there are significant changes to this future force it will be useless as well.

Lee goes on to say: Theres always a temptation to throw a Peace keeping force at an intractable political problem. And thats the issue were facing here. First of all the peace keeping operation has to be understood as supporting a larger Political goal. By itself it's not going to be able to nullify Hezbollah.

Israeli Defence forces are not able to do that. And unless the International Community is prepared to go to war, it's hard to imagine any stabilization force under a blue helmeted operation, a UN operation, or any other kind, to really succeed it.

Anderson then asks lee: Who needs to run this Operation force?

lee Answers: In the best case senario, you have a compitant Military force whos prestege is on the line. Run by a League nation such as France. France is a good candidate for this. You could even have the force run by a group of Nations like the European Union. But you need that kind of leadership and clear command in order to stand any chance of success.

JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS ITS THE EU NOT THE US THAT GUARENTEE ISRAELS SECURITY IN THE FUTURE. IN THIS FUTURE LAND FOR PEACE 7 YEAR TREATY OF DANIEL 9:27.

Germany seeks to unlock Middle East peace by Guy Jackson 1 hour, 33 minutes ago BERLIN (AFP) - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has embarked on his second diplomatic mission to the Middle East in the space of three weeks, underlining his country's role as a possible broker between Israel and Lebanon.

Steinmeier will Tuesday again shuttle between the leaders of Lebanon and Israel and has hinted strongly that he wants to persuade Syria to be involved in a solution to stop the four-week-old conflict, possibly by offering economic incentives in return.His first stop was in Beirut where he was to try to persuade Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora to accept a draft UN resolution to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Lebanon has rejected the proposed resolution because it does not call for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from its territory.Before leaving Berlin for Beirut, Steinmeier said the members of the UN Security Council now appear to have agreed on the wording of a resolution.He said the resolution would constitute a real chance for a necessary, urgent ceasefire in the Middle East.German Chancellor Angela Merkel has also applied pressure on Lebanon, speaking to Siniora by telephone about the resolution on Monday.

Although Germany does not hold a seat on the UN Security Council, its voice carries weight in the Middle East.It is one of the three European Union partners, along with Britain and France, to negotiate with Iran over its nuclear programme and Steinmeier has continued the tradition of his predecessor Joschka Fischer of making frequent visits to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

If a resolution that includes putting in place an international force in southern Lebanon is passed, Germany will find itself in a delicate position.Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has made strong calls for German troops to be included in such a force, but his view of its role differs sharply from that of the German government.The Israeli prime minister says German troops will be part of the force that defends Israel, a concept Germany rejects, saying its function would be to keep the peace without taking sides.For many, the idea of sending German soldiers to the Middle East 60 years after the murder of six million Jews raises moral questions.

Germany's Central Council of Jews said the thought that the grandchildren of the perpetrators of the Holocaust might find themselves shooting at the grandchildren of the Nazis' victims was too much to stomach.Many survivors of the Holocaust are still living in Israel and I don't know how they would react if German troops had to act against an Israeli soldier who was defending his country,said Stephan Kramer, the Council's secretary-general.Members of Merkel's power-sharing government argue however that Germany cannot ignore a call to help in an international force.Maximilian Terhalle, an analyst from the German Council on Foreign
Relations (DGAP), said he believed Germany would not refuse to play a role in the force.Once a strong UN mandate is worked out, Germany will take part in such a force,he told AFP.

In terms of finding a lasting peace in the Middle East, Germany is keen to involve Syria, which the United States accuses of arming Hezbollah. German foreign ministry spokesman Jens Ploetner said this week that Steinmeier was hoping to convince Syria to show a more positive attitude. We do not know whether this is possible but it is worth trying,Ploetner said. Terhalle said Steinmeier was trying to convince Syria to distance itself from Iran and Hezbollah in return for a trade agreement to allow its goods more access to European Union markets. The fact that he is not going to Damascus (on this trip) does not mean that he is not negotiating with Syria through unofficial channels,he said.