NEWS House Foreign Affairs Committee U.S. House of Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Republican CONTACT:    Sam Stratman, (202) 226-7875, July 21, 2008                      Alex Cruz, (202) 225-8200                      http://foreignaffairs.republicans.house.gov
	For Immediate Release:			{insert date}
	Ros-Lehtinen Condemns UN Peacekeepers Homage to Hezbollah Dead
	(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) said today that reports of UN peacekeepers saluting dead Islamist extremists are “deeply disturbing” and “once again demonstrate the tragic failings of discipline that continue to plague UN peacekeeping missions.” Photographs surfaced on Saturday showing troops from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) saluting a convoy of dead Hezbollah militants. The bodies, which Israel relinquished as part of a prisoner exchange last week, were being paraded through the streets of southern Lebanon when UNIFIL soldiers paid homage to these dead extremists. UN authorities have defended the soldiers’ actions, saying that the troops were following custom. “Photographs showing UNIFIL troops saluting the remains of dead Hezbollah militants are deeply disturbing and, frankly, quite repugnant,” said Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. UNIFIL previously came under international scrutiny after allegations surfaced that the mission was leaking information to violent Islamist operatives and had been manipulating its reports to omit Hezbollah violations of a UN-brokered ceasefire. “Rather than denying UNIFIL’s failings and justifying its soldiers’ reverence for dead extremists, perhaps UN authorities should remind troops on the ground that their principal job is to enforce UN mandated ceasefires objectively,” said Ros-Lehtinen. “Allowing Hezbollah militants to rearm, leaking them information, and saluting their dead does little to keep the peace or restore faith in a broken UN system,” she added. “The behavior of UNIFIL troops has again demonstrated the tragic failings of discipline that continue to plague UN peacekeeping missions. UN officials need to clamp down now on malfeasance and make good on their promises of reform,” said Ros-Lehtinen. Recent reports have also indicated that UN troops across the globe have been committing crimes that range from arms smuggling to child rape, and are regularly granted impunity by UN authorities.  ### Home | Press Releases