Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

With regard to the UN management of our forces, did the Minister see the remarks made by Colonel Gerald Aherne in "SIGNAL" magazine last week? Colonel Aherne was the chief of operations on the UN peace enforcement mission in Liberia. He spoke about UN office politics negatively affecting military missions and said that UN structures were beset by a muddled chain of command. He also said that during the most recent mission in central Africa vital "life support issues" for soldiers were unsatisfactory. Did the Minister see those remarks and what is his response to them?

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