UN Lebanon Force Could Start Deploying in 7 - 10 Days - New York Times

We'll believe it when we see it. It's hard to trust anyone about anything anymore.

UN Lebanon Force Could Start Deploying in 7 - 10 Days - New York Times:

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United Nations expects Israel's ground offensive to wind down within 48 hours and an expanded international force to begin deploying in southern Lebanon in a week to 10 days, the U.N.'s envoy said on Saturday.

`We are not starting from zero,'' Alvaro de Soto, the U.N. special envoy for the Middle East peace process, said of preparations for an international force.

`We have building blocks in place as part of stand-by arrangements with a number of countries with earmarked contingents,'' he told Reuters.

The resolution approved by the U.N. Security Council on Friday calls for a ``full cessation of hostilities'' and authorizes up to 15,000 U.N. troops to move in to enforce a ceasefire.

The resolution says Hizbollah must halt all attacks and Israel must stop ``all offensive military operations.''
De Soto said Israel's offensive was in its ``last throes'' and should wrap up in one to two days. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has backed the U.N. resolution, plans to put it to a vote of his cabinet on Sunday, officials said.