Protect our troops

SPEAKING on RTÉ on January 4, Cathal Berry TD said it is in Ireland’s ‘vital interest’ that Irish troops stay in Lebanon to prevent the regional war from escalating.

Irish soldiers have been serving in Lebanon and the Middle East since 1958. Forty-nine Irish soldiers lost their lives on these missions, 47 of them while serving with UNIFIL (the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) and two with UNTSO (the UN Truce Supervision Organization). This has been a huge sacrifice, and a huge loss to their families and Irish Defence Forces colleagues.

Mr Berry did not explain why it is in Ireland’s ‘vital interest’ to expose Irish soldiers to such tragic loss of life. UNTSO has been in existence since 1948, and UNIFIL since 1978. Any UN peacekeeping mission that continues for so long has been failing to achieve peace.

Arguably, the presence in the region of these UN missions has enabled Israel in particular to avoid peaceful resolution of its conflicts with the Palestinian people and with neighbouring Arab states. It has also enabled Israel to illegally occupy and attempt to annex large amounts of Palestinian territory and the Syrian Golan Heights. Irish soldiers serving with UNIFIL will not prevent Israel from once again attacking and occupying parts of Lebanon and will not help to end the Israeli war crimes and probable genocide that are occurring in Gaza.

The decision of the Government to withdraw the Irish contingent from the Golan Heights, this April, is the correct one and a similar decision should be made regarding Irish soldiers serving with UNIFIL in Lebanon. There are other important conflicts, especially in Africa, where Irish soldiers could be more effectively deployed on genuine UN missions.

EDWARD HORGAN, Castletroy, Limerick.