Peacekeeping boom strains UN

UN peacekeeping troops and spending could reach all-time highs as the United States and Britain push to send as many as 24,000 troops and police to Sudan's Darfur region, and a force of 15,000 is now being pieced together to enforce a shaky cease-fire in southern Lebanon.

More than 110,000 UN troops and police could be on the ground in the coming months, an increase of 50 percent, at a time the world body already faces serious operational challenges and spending is tight.

UN uniformed peacekeepers now number about 73,000, and the peacekeeping budget for the current year has mushroomed to $4.75 billion. This comes at a time the United States, which funds about a quarter of that budget, faces election-year pressure to slash deficits.

The Department of Peacekeeping Operations has a staff of just 600 to handle planning, logistics, command and control, legal woes, communications and travel. That is too few people to support troop numbers in the six figures, said Lee Feinstein of the Council on Foreign Relations.

"They are simply not equipped to do it," Feinstein said. "That's not to disparage them. That is the result of the deliberate choices of the membership."

The UN peacekeeping department declined comment, but other UN officials acknowledged it would be difficult for the current peacekeeping staff to support that many troops.

"We do what we can, but we may need additional resources down the line," said UN spokesman Farhan Haq.