(In case you were wondering, that title is meant to be sarcastic)

French peacekeepers arrive in Lebanon

Some 50 French peacekeepers arrive in south Lebanon as part of UN force tasked with helping Lebanese army take over area

About 50 French peacekeepers arrived in south Lebanon on Saturday, the first reinforcements for a UN force charged with helping the Lebanese army take over the area, witnesses said.

France has pledged just 200 army engineers, disappointing the United Nations and the United States, which had hoped Paris would provide the backbone and leadership of the force that is to monitor a truce between Israel and Hizbullah guerillas.

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France, which commands the current 2,000-strong force known as UNIFIL, had been expected to make a significant new contribution that would form the backbone of the expanded force. But French President Jacques Chirac disappointed the United Nations and other countries by announcing that France would contribute just 200 combat engineers to its current 200-member contingent in Lebanon.

In Washington, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters "I expect we haven't heard the last from them." Privately, a senior US official said the United States is confident France will increase its commitment and added that the French have "not given us any indication they are backing away from being in the lead" of the expanded force.

Finland to send up to 250 peacekeepers

The United Nations appealed to European countries Friday to contribute troops to an expanded UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon to balance the commitments from Muslim countries so that both Israel and Lebanon will view it as legitimate.

Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown said there was promising news from Italy and Finland. But he stressed that more European nations are needed for the vanguard force of 3,500 troops that the UN wants on the ground by Aug. 27 to help ensure a ceasefire between Israel and Hizbullah gunmen in south Lebanon.

Italy formally endorsed sending troops to Lebanon but did not commit itself to specific numbers. Finland formally decided to send up to 250 peacekeepers to Lebanon, but said they would not be deployed until November.

At a meeting of 49 potential troop contributing nations on Thursday, the only countries to offer mechanized infantry battalions which will be the front line of the expanded force were three Muslim countries which do not have diplomatic relations with Israel - Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia - and Nepal, which is predominantly Hindu.