Understandably, the families of Irish soldiers in Lebanon are worried about their loved ones there. It is of course unacceptable that peacekeepers should be endangered by anyone in the region. But surely, that very term “peacekeepers” in the Middle East is now meaningless. A stark reappraisal of Ireland’s role in UNIFIL is long overdue.
It might begin with a question. After nearly fifty years in existence, what does the first I in UNIFIL stand for? Infinite? Interminable? Indefinite? It stands for Interim, though there is nothing remotely interim about it. Moreover, Ireland’s continued involvement in UNIFIL is based largely on emotions, because it enables the Irish people feel very good about both themselves and their Army. Better still, the Lebanese deployment also gets somebody else (the UN) to pay for the Army, a historically-essential ingredient of the childishness that defines Irish defence policy.
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