Well put, Priam.
It would appear that what TC is getting at is the establishment of a military force under the control of the UN only, with no input from national governments, not neccessarily sending Aegis in to purge the Janjaweed.
Several questions here, to my mind:
1. Would this be a mercenary army, in the purest sense of the word?
Wikepedia defines "mercenary" as:
The generic definition of a mercenary is a soldier who fights or engages in warfare primarily for private gain, usually with little regard for ideological, national, or political considerations.
By this definition a UN Bde Gp would probably not be mercenaries.
2. Is the establishment of such a unit a good idea, and would it ever work?
From an idealistic background, this initially sounds quite cool. A professional military unit with, (presumably), full medical backup and an admin tail capable of looking after its' soldiers. I think, however, that TC has been watching a bit too much "Man from U.N.C.L.E".
In reality, the internecine, international squabbling that would occur within the unit itself, combined with the general indecisiveness of the UN, and the humungous language difficulties would prevent this unit from ever being deployed, except well after the point at which it could do any good.
That said, who would be an ideal candidate to head up such a high profile unit? Perhaps a high-ranking, high-profile, decorated ex-officer with a background from one of the most formidable SF units in the world?
I'm on to you, Brig Collins!
