The Defence Forces are concerned about being left out of major peacekeeping missions because of the State's strict neutrality stance and lack of equipment, writes Jim Cusack, Security Correspondent
By JIM CUSACK
THE Republic has a commitment to the United Nations that it will always have at least 850 soldiers ready to serve in UN peacekeeping missions.
At present, there are 750 Irish soldiers serving in UN missions, about 650 of these with UNIFIL in south Lebanon, its main operational outlet, requiring an infantry battalion which rotates biannually.
UNIFIL is one of the last large, entirely UN-operated missions and it is being slowly wound down after almost two decades in place. If there is a peace settlement between Israel and Syria, the need for the big UN mission in south Lebanon could quickly evaporate.
If UNIFIL were to disappear the consequences for the Defence Forces could be very serious, according to senior military sources.
The period in the 1970s when Ireland had no major UN overseas commitment is seen as one of the lowest points in the recent history of the Defence Forces. The opening of the UN mission in Lebanon in 1978 revived morale.
In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that if the policy on overseas commitment were restricted to purely UN peacekeeping (as opposed to peace-enforcement) missions then the Defence Forces would be facing a diminishing overseas role.
In 1992, in order for them to participate in the UN mission in Somalia, the Dail had to pass legislation permitting Irish soldiers to participate in a peace enforcement mission. Under the UN peace enforcement" terms, its personnel are allowed to use force to secure its mandate and protect civilians and its own personnel. In strictly peacekeeping missions the soldiers stand back and defend themselves only when their lives are under threat.
The UN mission in Somalia (UNOSOM) went badly wrong and the huge force was withdrawn after coming under constant attack from the local militias.
The Republic sent a transport company, of about 80 men and 30 vehicles, to UNOSOM and this played an important and successful role in moving equipment and supplies into the famine-hit interior. However, the United States, which provided the logistical muscle for the Somali mission, was incensed at the way the UN managed the mission.
After Somalia, the US was not prepared to commit troops to a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia unless it had a direct input into the military command. Somalia also showed that the UN was incapable of maintaining peace in a country where the fighting factions would not agree to a ceasefire.
The US ensured that NATO assumed command of the military peacekeeping operation in Bosnia in December 1995 when a US-led force entered the country to secure the ceasefire.
There are 30 nations involved in this NATO-led force, including many which have served alongside the Irish in UN peacekeeping missions in the past.
The current NATO force, known as "Sfor" (Stability Force), has around 30,090 troops. It is split into three command areas: the north-west region under control of a British division based in Gorni Vakuf; a French division in the south, based in Sarajevo; and an American division in the north-east, based in Tuzla. Its mandate is to enforce the UN Security Council resolution supporting the peace agreement signed in Paris in December 1995.
Sfor is mandated to separate the armies in Bosnia, ensure the ceasefire and that rival troops and artillery are withdrawn to designated areas, and create a stable environment for other civilian tasks associated with the peace agreement.
The current NATO commander in Bosnia is Gen Bill Crouch of the US army, who has been NATO's commander of Allied Land Forces in central Europe since February 1996.
Although Sfor is clearly a NATO force it is acting under the authority of the UN Security Council. This should provide the basis for any Irish participation.
However, it is still not fully clear under which command area in Bosnia an Irish contingent would serve. Senior Army figures had hoped that the Republic would make at least a company-sized commitment to the mission in Bosnia, as it had done in Somalia.
It now seems more likely that the commitment will be limited to a platoon-sized contingent of military police (around 30 soldiers), making it one of the smallest contributions to the mission. (Denmark has agreed a commitment of up to 1,000 troops.)
Aside from the political sensitivity over participation in the mission, the Defence Forces are so short of equipment that they would be unable to fulfil any infantry function in Bosnia. The Army has only two armoured personnel carriers (an average infantry battalion would be expected to have around 70). Thus any Irish contingent would have to serve in the country without the protection of armoured transport.
The hope in the Army is that money saved over the next few years from reducing the Defence Forces' size by 1,500 will be spent on equipment so that it can, if called upon to do so, provided an adequate force for future foreign peacekeeping missions.