Creating a Force for Peace Operations: Ensuring Stability with Justice

Abstract

The terrorist attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001 took the world by surprise. Yet the US military and its coalition partners were prepared to provide an effective response to international terrorism across the spectrum of capabilities. The military response has been measured and effective. Special operations forces and air assets took their toll on the Taliban and al Qaeda, and the role of conventional ground forces expanded to meet tactical and strategic requirements. In addition to supporting special operations forces in their direct strikes on terrorist organizations, conventional forces have two continuing missions: humanitarian relief operations, and the assurance of general security in order to enable post-conflict reconstruction in critical areas. Governments united in the war against terrorism are beginning to recognize these tasks as the same ones that have been required since the need to prepare to fight the massed armies of the Soviet Union fell away with the Berlin Wall. They are als o the same peacekeeping tasks performed by military forces in the Balkans during stability and support operations there. The US ability to participate in peace operations has become more important, not less so. Before the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, the Department of Defense had begun a strategy for reshaping the US military. As one might expect, defense policy now reflects an emphasis on homeland defense against the asymmetric threats to our national interests that flow from international terrorism; cyber-warfare; transnational organized crime; illegal migration; illicit trafficking in narcotics, weapons, and people; and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Such threats are most likely to originate in regions with significant ethnic and religious turmoil. The world will not be safer, nor the homeland secure, if in fighting the immediate terrorist threat we allow the Balkans, Afghanistan, and other trouble spots to produce future threats to our security. Desperate people do desperate things. Desperate regimes seek financial and military support from terrorist organizations to remain in power. Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda operatives found sanctuary in Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, and other countries with intractable internal conflicts. The writings and rhetoric of the post-Cold War years have been prolific on the challenges faced by the sole surviving superpower. Indeed, the perils of such a position have become clear. While there is no certain way to negate America's vulnerability to hostile sentiment and actions, providing essential services to the international community and setting an example for other states to follow is the country's best bet. As the United States leads the way in the war against international terrorism, it will require near worldwide support in many forms-- diplomatic, economic, and intelligence. It will be forced to address the concerns of other states and forced to provide international services, which ironically will ultimately benefit America's position in the world. No longer can the nation afford to be grudging in its attention to troubled regions and situations heretofore defined as distinct from the traditional geopolitical definition of vital interests. Like the Cold War, the current struggle and its require ment for post-conflict intervention and reconstruction is likely to preoccupy the United States for decades. A New Approach to Conflict Intervention Accordingly, the United States will need both new forces and a new approach to post-conflict intervention. It must and can maintain its warfighting ability while becoming more adept at integrating civilian actors and processes. The mission of the military remains one focused on security, yet in peace operations civilian actors also have a critical role to play in achieving sustainable security. The division of labor is not always clear, and in fact, the way forward is not to divide labor so cleanly that we erect firewalls between actors. …