Irish Army peacekeeping in the Lebanon (176)

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Ian Sanders

History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 865 Ratings

🗓️ 7 May 2021

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Adrian Jones was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Irish Army in 1983. As a 23 year old officer he served in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force UNIFIL in Southern Lebanon from 1987 to 1988. The Irish battalion consisted of 580 personnel which were rotated every six months, plus almost 100 others in UNIFIL headquarters and the Force Mobile Reserve. In all, 30,000 Irish soldiers served in Lebanon over 23 years. The Irish troops in Lebanon were initially intended to supervise the withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces from the area after an invasion in 1978 and to prevent fighting between the Palestine Liberation Organization forces and Israel, however beginning in 1985, the Israeli army scaled back its numbers, remaining only in support of the South Lebanon Army in Southern Lebanon which was fighting the newly established Iranian proxy spinoff of the Amal movement – the Arab Shia Hezbollah. We hear about Irish officer training, the position of Irish neutrality during the Cold War. Among many subjects Adrian also talks about the challenges of his peacekeeping mission, rules of engagement and the deaths of Irish peacekeepers. Extra info, book details and videos are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode176/ Now I need help to continue to track down these unknown stories of the Cold war and ensure they are preserved before they are lost. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to pledge a small monthly amount per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ James Chilcott is your host today and I am delighted to welcome Adrian Jones to our Cold War conversation… Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations 0:00 Introduction and early life of Adrian Jones 2:08 SListener Donations Request 7:34 Discussion on the role of the Irish military in global peacekeeping 16:23 Irish neutrality during the Cold War 24:55 Adrian's deployment to Lebanon: preparations and initial impressions 30:12 The mission in South Lebanon and changing political landscape 50:24 Reflections on the Lebanon tour and challenges of peacekeeping 1:00:00 Navigating communication and politics in a pre-cell phone era 1:04:00 Looking back at the time in Lebanon and closure Chapters powered by PodcastAI✨ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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1:02.7	Adrian Jones was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Irish Army in 1983.
1:08.7	As a 23-year-old officer, he served in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force,
1:13.6	Unifil, in southern Lebanon from 1987 to 1988. The Irish battalion consisted of 580 personnel,
1:22.6	which were rotated every six months. In all, 30,000 Irish soldiers served in Lebanon over 23 years.
1:30.3	The Irish troops in Lebanon were initially intended to supervise the withdrawal of the Israel Defence Forces from the area
1:39.3	after an invasion in 1978 and to prevent fighting between the Palestinian Liberation Organization forces
1:46.8	and Israel. However, beginning in 1985, the Israeli army scaled back its numbers, remaining only
1:53.7	in support of the South Lebanon Army in southern Lebanon, which was fighting the newly established
1:59.6	Iranian proxy spin-off of the Amal movement,
	...

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