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Pacific island peacekeepers

John Kiriakou's observation that small Pacific states such as Fiji supply a disproportionate share of the world's peacekeeping forces because the pay makes up a large part of their national budgets — and his argument that this makes them cultural strangers wherever they deploy.

Pacific island peacekeepers is an observation John Kiriakou offered in October 2025 while weighing a proposal to send Pakistani troops into Gaza, by asking who the alternative would be.

“The alternative would have been troops from Tahiti, right? Or from Fiji,” he said. “These Pacific islands provide so many peacekeeping forces, and it’s a major source of income for them. It makes up a great part of their budget.”[1]

His objection to them is not to their conduct as soldiers but to the distance between them and the populations they are asked to police: “they’re cultural strangers, you know, the people from the South Pacific.”[1]

The comparison he draws is specific about what cultural proximity would supply. Pakistani troops “at least would understand Islam, would respect, you know, Palestinian women, all the stuff that non-Muslim peacekeeping forces over the years have been accused of ignoring.”[1]

See also

References

  1. DeProgram Show with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas, 2025-11-0115:36 on YouTube · Transcript

Sourced from John Kiriakou's on-record public statements. See his profile for the full body of his interviews, podcast appearances, and short-form video.