Chapter One
Paris, France
Monday, 6:13 A.M.
Seven years ago, during training for service with UNTAC—the
United Nations Transitional Authority in
Cambodia—brash, adventuresome Lieutenant Reynold
Downer of the 11th/28th Battalion, the Royal Western
Australia Regiment, learned that there were three conditions
that had to be met before a United Nations peacekeeping
operation could be sent to any nation. It wasn't
something he'd ever wondered about or wanted to be a
part of, but the Commonwealth of Australia felt differently.
First, the fifteen member nations of the UN Security
Council had to approve the operation and its parameters
in detail. Second, since the United Nations does not have
an army, member nations of the General Assembly had
to agree to contribute troops as well as a force commander,
who was put in charge of deployment and execution
of the multinational army. Third, the warring
nations had to consent to the presence of the PKO.
Once there, the pea ... read full excerpt from: State of Siege ebook
