Ireland's participation in the European Union's emerging military structures will be put to a difficult test now that the 3,700-strong United Nations mandated operation in Chad has been given the go-ahead.
Yesterday's decision by EU foreign ministers to approve the force's deployment, under the overall command of Lt Gen Patrick Nash who is based in Paris, will see it in place by May, before the rainy season. Its stated purpose is to protect over 200,000 civilians, aid workers and refugees fleeing the conflicts in neighbouring Darfur and the Central African Republic with peace-enforcing powers.
This is a tricky assignment, made more complex by the long-standing presence of a bilateral French force in Chad, in addition to strong French participation in the EU force. Chad is a former French colony, which has remained in the French sphere of influence since independence. For 17 years it has been ruled by Idriss Déby, who came to power in a coup, and is protected by 1,200 French troops. He fell out with Sudanese leaders when the Darfur crisis erupted in 2003 and since then they have funded several rebel groups fighting against him, while he does the same thing with Sudanese rebel groups. They all play a ruthless game across the border, making the lives of these refugees even more precarious. The picture is complicated further by China's rapidly growing involvement in the region, in pursuit of Sudanese oil.
The Chad operation only makes sense if seen in tandem with the combined UN and African Union one in Darfur itself. Both were the subject of endless bargaining before they were agreed. Sudanese leaders were afraid of losing the political initiative to a larger UN-AU force. But there has been little progress at the recent Libyan- sponsored peace talks between them and the Darfur rebels, while the larger conflict between the southern and northern parts of the country shows little or no sign of being resolved despite an elaborate peace process.
The intermingling of two rebellions, a proxy border war and the tragic spillover into Chad of conflicts in Sudan and the Central African Republic makes this the most challenging operation by far yet to be mounted by the new EU force. Irish troops will be working with the Nordic battlegroup, including troops from Finland, Sweden, Poland and Austria, along with officers from eight other EU member states. In an interview with this newspaper today Lt Gen Nash frankly acknowledges how challenging a task it will be to differentiate the EU force from French interests in Chad. It cannot be perceived there as an instrument of French policy if it is to succeed.
That will require a sophisticated communications policy, as well as close political monitoring - and Lt Gen Nash will next September recommend whether the mandate should be renewed. There is no doubting the professionalism of the Irish and other troops involved. But it is important that the political difficulties they face be understood as clearly as the daunting logistical ones which have also delayed this deployment.