Peacekeeping Policies of the U.S.

This paper assesses the policies providing for the use of United States armed forces in peacekeeping, peacemaking, and humanitarian operations. The position of this writer is that the use of United States armed forces in such roles should be a last resort, as opposed to a first choice. This position is developed and justified through a presentation of background information on the topic, a discussion of the issues involved, and evaluation of policies, and a statement of conclusions.

The end of the Cold War also marked an end to the bipolar ch

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ed States ground forces entered Kosovo as peacekeepers with the end of the successful peacemaking air campaign. There currently is no end in sight for the participation of United States ground forces as peacekeepers in Kosovo. If one accepts the Administration contention than an ongoing conflict in Kosovo would eventually embroil the United States in a much larger conflict, then one could fairly state that the national security of the United States has been enhanced by the peacemaking operation in Kosovo and is being enhanced by the peacekeeping operation in Kosovo. Colonel David Fastabend noted however, that, while "combat and non-combat is an alluring was to categorize" operations, the "strategic distinction between war and OOTW is problematic at the tactical level" (6:84). This contention implies that, on the ground, a peacekeeping effort may in fact be a small war. Further, such an operation can only be successful where the peacekeepers possess arms superiority to the combatants in the area (5:22). The Role of International Organizations on United States Armed Forces Participation in MOOTW Efforts It is somewhat misleading to state that MOOTW efforts involving United States armed forces have occurred under the auspices
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Approximate Word count = 4719
Approximate Pages = 19 (250 words per page)

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