Amid fears that the proposed United Nations peacekeeping mission to Lebanon will founder due to inadequate French support, US President George Bush said there had been "different signals" coming from Paris and he hoped France would now decide to send more troops.
There was growing concern yesterday that the target of 15,000 peacekeepers envisaged in Security Council Resolution 1701 would not be reached, unless a major country like France provided the "backbone" or core of the force.
With the French playing the lead role in diplomatic moves to ensure the passage of Resolution 1701, there had been expectations that France would also provide a substantial proportion of the augmented United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil).
However, there was widespread surprise when President Chirac announced that France's contribution would be limited to 200 engineers in addition to the 200 French troops already taking part in Unifil.
"We hope they send more," Mr Bush said. "There's been different signals coming out of France. Yesterday they had a statement, today they had a statement."
The French stance appeared to cause other potential troop-contributors, including Ireland, to stay their hand. Expressing surprise, Government sources said in Dublin that "all the signals" had suggested France would play a central role in getting the mission up and running.
Stressing the need for a country such as France to play a lead role and provide the core of the mission, sources said it would be undesirable to have "50 different groups and 50 different commanders".
"You are not at the stage where you can bring something to Government," sources said. However, it was "encouraging" that the ceasefire was still holding.
Official sources in Dublin described the Irish position as "very, very cautious" because the Concept of Operations (mission statement) was "very unclear" and the situation on the ground also remained highly volatile.
Chief UN military adviser Lieut Gen R.K. Mehta spent three hours outlining the rules of engagement for the mission to about 50 member states, including Ireland, in New York on Thursday. However, widespread scepticism and uncertainty continue to hinder attempts to put large numbers of troops on the ground.
Political sources in Dublin suggested there was little likelihood of the Dáil being recalled this month to authorise sending troops to Lebanon, unless there was significant clarification of operational details.
The maximum Irish contribution in any case would be between 150 and 200 troops. More than 760 soldiers are already on peacekeeping duty overseas, including a sizeable contingent in Liberia, and this is close to the maximum number of troops normally deployed overseas.
Nor is it envisaged that Irish soldiers would play a "cutting-edge" role in the enhanced Unifil mission. "We would not be doing front-line stuff," according to Government sources. Ireland would make "a modest contribution". But the mission's prospects were uncertain without the French in the lead role.
French defence minister Michele Alliot-Marie dismissed any suggestions that Paris had let down its allies. "I can't let it be said or implied that France is not doing its duty in the Lebanese crisis," he told RTL radio. France wanted to see the small print before dispatching any more troops.
UN deputy secretary general Mark Malloch Brown said "the next few days are going to be very challenging to make sure that we meet this commitment of 3,500 troops, or 7,000 boots on the ground in 10 days from now".
He added that "the particular appeal I want to make today is that Europe comes forward with troops for this first wave".