A dispute between the government and renegade security force elements in Timor Leste having escalated out of control, in late May an Australian-led international military intervention was necessary to restore order. With Timor Leste, which became independent in 2002 after 24 years of Indonesian occupation and three years of United Nations tutelage, apparently on the brink of failing as a state, the question now is how a process of national disintegration can be reversed. Some form of international security presence will be needed in the medium- to long-term to ensure that Timor Leste does not come off the rails again.