It will not be cheap. The peacekeeping operation will also have to be conducted in co-operation with the forces of several different countries, each of which will have its own concerns and domestic constituency to keep happy. Australia may be the lead nation and provide the Force Commander but it will not have total control over other national forces and their resources. No military plans, it is said, survive contact with the enemy. The same is true of peacekeeping.
Military planners have to prepare for the worst case scenario.
The lives of peacekeepers, Australians and others, will be at stake. Alternatively, the situation may calm down rapidly if Indonesia is able and willing to control the violence in East Timor.