COUNTRIES PROVIDE, PAY U.N. TROOPS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 8, 1993                   TAG: 9303080009
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Ray Reed
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
COUNTRIES PROVIDE, PAY U.N. TROOPS
Q: It always seems like United Nations peacekeeping troops are being sent out, and I wonder where they come from. Does each country provide troops? Do troops volunteer? How are they paid? Do they have special U.N. training? K.P., Daleville
A: It probably can be counted as a political gain for the United States that in recent years those countries that are capable of sending troops alongside ours have seemed more willing to do so.
In that sense, Iraq and Saddam Hussein may have helped unite the world.
Let's take your easier questions first, though.
Troops don't volunteer for United Nations duty; their countries volunteer them and cover the payroll. The U.N. sometimes picks up the transportation costs.
Where do the soldiers come from? It varies according to the terms of each peacekeeping resolution. The political factors can be geographic, economic, ethnic or just plain humanitarian.
There are 178 member nations, and many of them can never send troops. Their constitutions may forbid it, or they may not be able to afford it. Some of them don't have standing armies.
The Somali operation is primarily a U.S. effort. However, the first troops who secured the airport for food delivery came from Pakistan, itself the focus of international hunger relief in the past.
Nigeria, Egypt and others also have troops in Somalia, and the reasons they decided to participate are their own.
The former Yugoslavia's peacekeeping team is much more international, with troops from Britain, France and Spain.
A spokesman for the U.S. State Department said there is no standard that determines which countries will participate. He also said it's a misperception nowadays that every peacekeeping force is U.S.-dominated.
As for special U.N. training, the troops don't get much. Some of the officers obviously are trained enough to communicate and coordinate efforts among the different nationalities.
And although U.N. leaders would like the United States to designate an airborne division for world peacekeeping duties, we've resisted that, another State Department spokesman said. / Blair House has guest role
Q: A recent column said a house at Washington's Naval Observatory is the vice president's residence. I always thought Blair House was the vice president's home. Can you explain? J.R., Roanoke
A: Blair House never was a vice presidential residence, according to its curator, Mary Williams.
The naval home is the first official vice presidential quarters.
Blair House, located across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, provides accommodations for foreign dignitaries invited by the president.
Others also had the perception of a Blair House connection to the the vice president; Williams said the idea might come from Harry Truman's having lived there while Eleanor Roosevelt was moving out of the White House after FDR's death, and during a White House renovation from 1948 through '51.
Got a question about something that might affect other people too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB