Umstrittene Schweizer Sicherheitspolitik ... - ETH Zürich

Rory Montgomery
opportunities. This is felt to be advantageous from the professional point
of view. The decision that was taken was that for the most part we would
function no longer in a stand-alone fashion but in partnership with other
countries. In Liberia for example, our troops made up the bulk of the
Quick Reaction Force which was available to the Force Commander on
the ground, but operated in company with a Swedish contingent. In
UNIFIL – the second time, when we were there for one year from 2006
to 2007 – we offered force protection to a Finnish engineering company.
In Kosovo we have worked again very closely with the Finns. This is a
pattern of cooperation with others which we have become quite habituated
to. That of course has been hugely facilitated by our membership of
Partnership for Peace. With regard to Defence Forces, I would see that
as absolutely fundamental in terms of increasing our capacity to operate
at a high level with others.
To conclude, I would like to say a word about the future. It is fair to
say that at the moment we are, like others, under severe budgetary pressure.
It is unlikely that we will increase the number of troops we have
overseas; there may even be some reduction. But I think we will most
likely remain in Chad for a number of years, there is no intention to
leave Kosovo at this time, and we will take part in different missions as
they arise – the important thing being that we have a UN mandate, that
we are able to play a useful role, and that there is a niche for us to fill.
There is broad public support for participation in peacekeeping and peace
support missions. Quite a lot of publicity has been given to the Chad
mission. A contingent of soldiers even appeared on a major television
show, where they were given almost an hour to talk about their experience.
That got a tremendous response from the public.We will continue
in a pragmatic way; there won’t be any change of fundamental doctrine
regarding our membership of military alliances. I hope and believe that
the outcome of the second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty will be that
we will continue to be able to take part fully in the development of the
EU’s policy in this area.
That was my overview. I would be delighted to answer any questions
you may have.
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