The United States has been conducting peace operations under various names throughout its history, while never defining these tasks as a core mission. However, the combined effects of the end of the cold war, involvement in the Balkans and the post-conflict reconstruction of Iraq are leading the United States to embrace the full spectrum of operations. Since 2004, new doctrine has been published and new concepts introduced, reflecting a more holistic approach to peace and stability operations. The majority of US military personnel now have experience in these missions. Both services have been re-examining their own history, dusting off and republishing the counter-insurgency and 'small war' writings of the past 100 years. It remains to be seen whether the doctrinal shift away from large conventional wars is permanent or a temporary response to recent events.The United States has been conducting peace operations under various names throughout its history. These date back to colonial times and the Reconstruction after the Civil War in the 1860s through the campaigns against the native Americans and the occupations of the Philippines, Cuba, China and Central America at the beginning of the twentieth century, as well as the post-conflict situations after the second world war. Functions engaged in by the US military have ranged from enforcing civil rights, to disarming, demobilizing and separating factions, overseeing the formation of governments, training and advising local military forces, educational reform, humanitarian relief and providing a safe and secure environment so that orderly society could be established. US military officers have conducted peacebuilding operations in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Nicaragua and the Philippines following the war with Spain in 1898 and in Germany and Japan following the second world war. In all this time, the US military as an institution and the US government never embraced these tasks as a core mission. However, the combined effects of the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, involvement in the Balkan peace operations since 1995, and the operations in support of the post-conflict goals in Iraq since 2003 are changing the core mission of the US military. 1

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. March 2011The views expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. Authors of Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI) publications enjoy full academic freedom, provided they do not disclose classified information, jeopardize operations security, or misrepresent official U.S. policy. Such academic freedom empowers them to offer new and sometimes controversial perspectives in the interest of furthering debate on key issues. This report is cleared for public release; distribution is unlimited. *****This publication is subject to Title 17, United States Code, Sections 101 and 105. It is in the public domain and may not be copyrighted.ii ***** Comments pertaining to this report are invited and should be forwarded to: Director, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, U.S. Army War College, 22 Ashburn Drive, Carlisle, PA 17013-5054. ***** All Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI) publications are available on the PKSOI homepage for electronic dissemination. Hard copies of this report also may be ordered while copies last from our homepage. PKSOI's homepage address is: https://pksoi.army.mil ***** The Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute publishes a quarterly journal to update the peace and stability operations community on the research of our analysts, recent and forthcoming publications and upcoming conferences sponsored by PKSOI. Each quarterly journal has a specific theme related to peace and stability operations and a commentary by the Director of PKSOI entitled The Director's Corner. If you are interested in receiving this journal, please subscribe on our homepage at http: iii FOREWARDProfessor William Flavin provides an excellent cautionary piece about the future of the military. We are at a crossroads. Do we take the lessons learned and noted by change makers such as General Dempsey and others and move toward a military that can work in complex operations or do we default back to a more conventional structural and doctrinal position? He shows us that there is a balance between conventional and counterinsur...