"UN approves 11.800 peacekeepers for CAR " Topic

"The UN Security Council has unanimously approved the creation of a UN peacekeeping force in the Central African Republic to try to stop violence between Christians and Muslims that has threatened to spiral into genocide.

The force, authorised by the 15-member council on Thursday, will be known as MINUSCA and will be made up of up to 10,000 troops, 1,800 police and 20 corrections officers.

The UN operation will assume authority on September 15 from the African Union's 5,600-strong MISCA force, which was deployed in December…"
Full article and video here.
link

Now this is an interesting amount of troops.

Amicalement
Armand

Yes, and it will not end well…..

The UN is reacting at its usual glacial pace..-September is a long way off…..

UN peacekeepers have an abysmal record in the field. More often than not, they side with and enable the forces they're supposed to restrain. And there are some nasty reports of exploitation, abuse, corruption, rape, and child molestation.

OK so the problem with running this as a game is that… where exactly is the game here? Not even at the skirmish level. The mission, troops, and ROE make it really ungameable unless you're doing a policy simulation.

Oh gods…here we go again with "UN peacekeepers in Africa"…Prepare for yet another round of failure…

First, in order to game a peacekeeping scenario, one has to actually know what a peacekeeping mission is supposed to do and what tactics are used to achieve that goal! Many may not realize that most of the peacekeppers used on Africa are actually….from Africa!

When things go to Chapter 11 (that's Chapter 11 of the UN charter), then the peacekeepers can go on the offensive and the ROE changes! Remember, regardless of what "chapter" a PK force is operating under, the ROE allows them to defend themselves. (With the exception of pure observer missions….which are NOT PK enforcement missions.)

The main object of a peacekeeping enforcement mission is to maintain a peaceful, steady state and keep the former warring forces separated- and get them to turn over their heavy weapons. (Any weapon larger than an AK and to disband. this is usually the normal terms of a peace agreement between warring factions.) The local law enforcement and civil government are bolstered and in charge.

Most "actions" in the peacekeeping role is to go after local warlords and plain old criminals that are taking advantage of the turmoil of a country and government getting itsef back on it's feet. A country has no hope of getting better if the peace (stability) cannot be achieved and maintained.

Gaming in miniature a PK operation can be fun (because nobody is actually getting hurt) and a challenge at the company level. You will need a Battalion Commander and his staff to keep bugging you for inputs and passing along direction and intel. (Done with a shuffled deck of 3x5 cards with various serious and BS taskings….turn one over every time you roll a double while playing the game….very little communications occur at specific times!

Anyway, those are some observations from my exercising African Battalions PK skills just before they deployed on PK missions (about 30 times over 4 years) with the US State Dept.'s ACOTA program. (AFRICAN Contingency Operations-Training Assistance).

v/r
Tom

What can you say … TIA …

Hi'ya Murph! Such a news-eccentric comment! I blame the newscasters! The successes never get much airtime, but if you are an athlete and accidentally shoot your babe of a girlfriend, you get all the coverage in the world! Let's face it….reporting of bad things sells advertising time- good things are the way the status-quo is supposed to remain and if your competition is reporting on on an event they feel they can sensationalize on….well, son, that is now known as a "Business Decision".

There have been many, many successes to offset the failures of a few undisciplined units in African PK missions. Darfur is one example. It took a long time to stabilize that situation because it is so big and desolate! Not to mention the complex quagmire of armed gangs running amock! One day the Janjui have sided with a known islamist extremest faction, the next day,they are fighting them. (I'd hate to be an S-2 Intel type that had to keep track of who was playing today and which side(s) of today's line-up is!) yet, we now have a new nation in the world- South Sudan! That could not have been possible without outside help to keep warring factions apart and yet bring them to the negotiations table. Oh, and never, never take a potable water supply for granted!

But I digress. It really does not surprise me that ANY coverage, even sensationalized until the next fete du jour springs up, gets much more than 15 second clip in US news. Hey, does anybody remember the massacres in Syria? Have not seen a lot on that subject (will of the world failure0 lately in the news……

PK scenarios have a lot to offer.

They are not all failures. Once installed in the D.R.C.,M-23 finished. Somalia though not over they have Al shabaab on the ropes. These things take time,your right about corruption,but for the refugees this is their only hope.Africa is a continent full of displaced people. Without the Blue Helmets,it would be worse.

So I can keep the AK and the machete? Thanks these are my tools of trade you know, oh just genocide,rape and pillaging, yes we get ultra stoned all the time too, yup its a great career choice.

The only time you'll get Africa working properly is when the homicidal maniacs aged 14 to 40 are all dead and all the corrupt heads of state are dust which will be never) waste of time using the old PK method. But more draconian methods, well that's not being charitable is it?, wasted effort, wasted money)

Tom, it's useful to hear from someone with first-hand experience and insights, instead of talk radio parrot reaction. Thanks for your posting.

Is the UN perfect? No. Are we better off in a world with the UN, or without it? With it, imperfect as it is.

Thanks for the input Tom, a positive look at PK ad some good examples of success……..

Has to be said the UN have achieved a helluva lot more in Africa than the US ever did….

And African troops operating under a UN mandate are, as noted, giving Al shabab in Somalia a splendid kicking.

Who said it didn't ? The Dark Continent is a Euro playground … Glad to see the US is last at something that has to do with foreign aid … there are too many problems here that $$$ could be used for … The USAID tried to hire me 3 times after I got out of the ARMY … But I don't like going to 3rd World holes without being well armed … call me old school …
Note: many of those countries' economies are smaller than California's …

Countries That Give The Most In Foreign Aid Statistics
Share This Statistic Verification
Source: OECD, The World Bank, Development Assistance Committee
Date Verified: 3.15.2012
Percent of GDP Commited to Foreign Aid
Country Percent of GDP to Aid
1 Sweden 0.99 %
2 Norway 0.88 %
3 Denmark 0.82 %
4 Netherlands 0.80 %
5 Belgium 0.50 %
6 United Kingdom 0.48 %
7 Ireland 0.43 %
8 Finland 0.43 %
9 Spain 0.43 %
10 Switzerland 0.42 %
11 Austria 0.42 %
12 Germany 0.38 %
13 France 0.38 %
14 Canada 0.32 %
15 Australia 0.29 %
16 New Zealand 0.27 %
17 Portugal 0.25 %
18 Italy 0.21 %
19 Greece 0.20 %
20 Japan 0.20 %
21 United States 0.19 %