BEIRUT, Aug 24, SPA - France said on Thursday it wasready to send an extra 1,600 troops to bolster a revamped U.N. force for Lebanon, bringing the total French contingent to 2,000and making it easier to recruit other nations, Reuters reported. France initially offered only to double its force in Lebanonto 400, disappointing many U.N. diplomats who had expected Paristo provide the backbone of the mission. However, President Jacques Chirac said France decided todispatch many more troops after winning assurances from theUnited Nations that the troops would be able to defendthemselves fully if they came under attack and could use forceto protect civilians. "Two thousand French troops will thus be placed under theUnited Nations in Lebanon. France is ready, if the UnitedNations wishes, to continue commanding this force," Chirac saidin a televised address. Italy, which had promised 2,000 to 3,000 troops, earliersaid it had won U.S. blessing for its leadership of the forceand that it was confident Europe, especially France, would firmup its so far limited military commitment. Prime Minister Romano Prodi said President George W. Bushhad told him by telephone of his "positive" view of Italy'soffer to lead the force. He added Bush was also leaning onallies to offer troops. The Bush administration later welcomed Chirac's offer. "The president welcomes the decision by the French, as hehas said an international force needs to be deployed urgently,"White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. The United Nations says a strengthened U.N. force in southLebanon is urgently needed to preserve the fragile truce whichcame into effect on Aug. 14 after a month of fighting whichkilled more than 1,300 people, mostly Lebanese civilians. The force will help the Lebanese army control south Lebanonafter the conflict between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas. But wrangling over the mandate and the participants had madeit hard for the United Nations to muster support for themission. Syria and Israel are also at odds over whether itshould deploy on the Syrian border to prevent arms smuggling. France sent 200 soldiers last week to join the 2,000-strongUNIFIL force which has been in south Lebanon since 1978. TheUnited Nations has approved an expanded force of up to 15,000. In response to the dispute between Syria and Israel overdeploying the U.N. force along the Syrian border, Lebanonundertook on Thursday to prevent smuggling. The government decided to seek technical assistance fromGermany to help control the border with Syria but InformationMinister Ghazi Aridi said the cabinet had not discussedrequesting U.N. troops to deploy their. A cabinet statement said Prime Minister Fouad Siniora wouldcontact German Chancellor Angela Merkel "to discuss providingthe Lebanese army with equipment and technical capabilities thatwould enable it to secure land and sea borders through its ownmilitary forces". Syria threatened on Wednesday to close the border if theU.N. troops deploy there. Israel says it will not lift a sea andair blockade of Lebanon unless the U.N. force helps the Lebanesearmy ensure that no new weapons reach Hizbollah in the south. The truce ended a war in which nearly 1,200 people inLebanon, mostly civilians, were killed, as well as 157 Israelis,mostly soldiers. The war erupted after Hizbollah captured twoIsraeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised more than $2billion in reconstruction funds for the areas in northern Israelthat were damaged during the war with Hizbollah. An opinion poll published on Thursday showed Olmert'scentrist party had only half the public support it had gained ina March election, while backing for two rightist parties haddoubled. Olmert acknowledged there had been failures in the war andpromised an investigation. "The question is how to draw lessons from the achievementsand from failures, from the responses we made and the failureswe have had. A check into this will be conducted," he said. Israeli forces are also engaged in conflict withPalestinians in Gaza, where Israel is trying to free anothercaptured soldier. On Thursday, Israelis killed threePalestinians and seized a senior member of the Hamas movement,Younis Abu Daqqa. One of those killed was Abu Daqqa's brother.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/384792