UNIFIL's 48-Year Mission: Peacekeeper or Placebo?

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was established in 1978 to confirm Israeli withdrawal and restore peace. Nearly five decades and $500 million annually later, Hezbollah has built an arsenal of 150,000 rockets and a tunnel network under the peacekeepers' noses. In this episode, we examine the gap between UNIFIL's Chapter VII mandate — which authorizes "all necessary action" to keep the area weapons-free — and the operational reality of a force that must coordinate with a Lebanese army unwilling to confront Hezbollah. We explore whether UNIFIL serves as a genuine security buffer, a diplomatic placebo, or even a structural shield for the very forces it was meant to contain.