The UN's new commitments to military missions have led some to warn of huge logistical challenges and unrealistic expectations, writes Mark Turner from the UN in New York
The prospect of large new peacekeeping missions in Lebanon and Darfur would push the number of troops under United Nations command to an all-time historical high, officials have warned, posing a daunting logistical challenge as the world body seeks to restore its battered reputation.
The UN is struggling to piece together a 15,000-strong force to monitor and enforce a fragile peace agreement in Lebanon, while the UK and US called last week for more than 17,000 troops to stem the bloodshed in Darfur.
Another force in East Timor is also a possibility, raising the prospect of the UN commanding 120,000 troops in almost 20 countries - the second-largest overseas military deployment after the US. It is far from clear where the resources to support their deployment will come from.
In Lebanon, despite initial calls by Washington for a "multinational force" led by a powerful nation with the capacity to intervene quickly, the region demanded a fully- fledged UN force instead.
But UN peacekeeping missions usually take months to assemble, and planners face serious obstacles in deploying 3,500 new troops by September, a further 3,500 by early October, and another 3,000 by early November, according to the schedule presented last week.
The UN was shocked when France, which championed a blue-helmeted operation rather than a multinational force, declined to offer the personnel many expected. European foreign ministers are due to discuss - with UN secretary general Kofi Annan - possible contributions in Brussels on Friday, but of the European Union countries, only Italy so far has offered substantial numbers.
Israel has also cast doubt on significant offers by some Muslim nations.
The UN is warning that it will need to shortcut normal rules governing hiring, logistics, provisions and legal agreements with contributors, to speed things up. "In order to get what we need on the ground in Lebanon, we are going to look at a different way of doing business," one UN official explained.
To some extent these new missions are good news for an organisation that some critics had proclaimed irrelevant in the wake of the Iraq crisis, and which has suffered from a wave of scandals.
Far from being sidelined, the UN has taken centre stage on the Middle East, Iran, and North Korea, as well as a series of crises in Africa and Asia. But officials are also nervous that the UN may once more be asked to do what its members cannot, without the necessary resources or conducive political conditions, leading to inevitable scapegoating if it does not work.
It is a familiar problem. In the early 1990s, early optimism over a major new role for the UN was shattered by its ill-prepared response to disasters in Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia.
The organisation went through a long period of introspection, leading to a more realistic doctrine over what it could or could not achieve. By 2003, however, peacekeeping was surging once more.
"In August 2000, there were 17 UN peacekeeping operations under way with a total of about 48,000 personnel. That figure was perceived to be exceptionally high," Jean-Marie Guehenno, head of UN peacekeeping, told funders earlier this year.
"At the end of 2005, we had 17 peacekeeping operations with almost double the personnel, over 86,000. It is time for us to acknowledge that peacekeeping is a flagship of the UN organisation and as such requires a sustained and comprehensive approach."
Simon Chesterman, head of the Institute for International Law and Justice at New York University, said there was a danger that "we could be approaching a situation like the early 1990s, where the UN is seen as a solution to all the intractable problems".
Another UN official said the new missions were a powerful example of why the UN needed far-reaching management reforms.
"Unless you get broader reforms firmed up, it will all be very difficult," he said.