Opinion: It is time to ask whether our Defence Forces should stay in Lebanon
We were happy and proud to have taken a seat on the UN Security Council in 2021-2022. That success was contributed to, in large part, by our commitment to global peace since 1960. We have earned our seat at the table because we have quite literally bled for the cause.
We appreciate now that we started our time on UN missions poorly equipped and perhaps a little naive. Our experience at the Battle of Jadotville in 1961 was a sobering one that opened our eyes to what it meant to take part in international affairs as an independent people. Members of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon attend the repatriation ceremony for Irish peacekeeper, Pte Seán Rooney, at Beirut international airport, Beirut, Lebanon. Photograph: Abbas Salman/EPA The attack on our troops in Lebanon should act as a new catalyst for discussion for our country, not just the Defence Forces. I can appreciate the pain and frustration that people feel; I can hear them asking what we are doing in these places. I, however, think we need to see that the 21st-century security environment is quite different to that of the post-second World War era. It is time to assert ourselves; no one else will do it for us. We have earned the right to fight to ensure that the perpetrators of this illegal attack are held to account.In the immediate term these priorities are a must, and in the medium term we need to accept that where we choose to deploy, and why, are key elements of wider discussions about the Defence Forces. Our force that is under pressure at home is the same one that pulls together units to go overseas without fail. We must remember that at 24 years of age, this was Pte Rooney’s second deployment. The Irish Defence Forces are not removed from the people – they are the representation of us as a people, in some of the darkest parts of the world. We have now lost 88 members of the Defence Forces on missions in the service of peace. None of this has been for territory or treasure, but maybe it is time to ask – for what? If we choose to stay involved in such missions, then let us ensure we go with a clear purpose. We should not shy away from this question as a country either. If we want to continue, let us assert ourselves and fight for that clear purpose and clear rules of engagement. The world is getting more complex, and for these purposes it needs defence personnel who are masters at operating in the grey.
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