PEACE OPERATIONS

1. This is a pilot self-learning lesson covering peace operations. The lesson is scheduled for a total of two hours and will take place as follows:

a. This lesson package is to be downloaded from the Fort Huachuca WWW page by students prior to class. There are two questions in Part 1- the UN, that are to be completed prior to class as homework.

b. 70 minutes are allocated for the students to complete the reading and answer the student worksheet, Part 2. The student worksheet is to be retained by students as a handout and study guide.

c. 30 minutes are allocated for discussion, instructor summary, and student questions.

2. In this lesson you will require:

a. Your computer.

b. FM 100-23.

INTRODUCTION

3. Lesson Objectives: On completion of this instruction, without references, describe peace operations, including the UN, and the application and differences in the IPB process between peace operations and conventional operations.

4. Lesson Tie-In: You have already been introduced to Operations Other Than War (OOTW) and the types of operations that it includes. Two of these operations, peacekeeping and peace-enforcement, collectively part of peace operations, deserve special attention because they are an increasingly likely mission for the U.S. Army and, for reasons of international legitimacy, they will often be conducted under the banner, or with the concurrence, of the United Nations (UN). This lesson is designed to introduce you to Peace operations, the UN, and the application and differences in the IPB process between peace operations from Conventional Operations.

PART ONE - THE UN

Student Note: The two questions in paragraph 6.a. and 6.b. are to be completed in your own time, as homework and brought to class.

5. The UN: The UN is an international organization established at the end of World War II to promote and maintain international peace and security. It is the second such organization, having replaced the League of Nations, which was founded in the aftermath of World War I. The UN officially came into existence on Jun 26, 1945, when 51 original members ratified its charter. The UN has had its critics, but has helped to keep small wars small and has provided both a forum for mediation and negotiation, as well as focusing world attention on a wide variety of global problems. The following extract from P.J. O'Rourke's Book, "All the Trouble in the World", (Picador, Australia, 1994, p246) illustrates one critical view of a UN peacekeeping operation:

"On the fifty mile drive from Croatian held territory into Bihac five kinds of armies had set up seven kinds of checkpoints. In the very middle of these was the United Nations Protection force, UNPROFOR. Most UNPROFOR troops come from nations that don't normally teach lessons in civic order to Europe - Jordan and Nigeria, for example. In this particular sector the UN soldiers were from Czechoslovakia, which at the time was itself disintegrating. UN Peacekeepers aren't allowed to fire their weapons unless they come under an attack so severe that they're probably already dead. What UNPROFOR is protecting isn't clear. Certainly not itself. The UN checkpoint was on a hillock with no cover, exposed in every direction and within an air-rifle shot of both Muslims and Serbs. The Czechs had AK-47s and a formidable looking armored car. But their helmets were baby blue and the armored car was painted toilet bowl white.....The UN Observer team's mission in Bihac was to talk to the Serbs by radio phone and arrange a cease-fire, (an) officer said. But the Serbs weren't returning (the) calls. "Sitting here, getting shelled and waiting for the phone to ring," he said, "that just about sums up our situation." The observers had a logbook recording the assaults, bombings and artillery attacks on the area. Each page was ruled in vertical columns: DATE, TIME, LOCATION, DAMAGE, CASUALTIES. The columns headed ACTION TAKEN BY THE UN were completely empty."

a. What are the four major goals of the UN?

b. What are the six major organs of the UN?

Student Note: The following reading and questions are to be done during class time.

7. Developments Since 1945: The UN has undergone many changes since 1945 of which two are worthy of note. The first has been the increase in the number of member states and the consequent change in composition of the UN, with developing countries from Africa, Asia, and Latin America now playing major roles in UN affairs. The second has been the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the demise of the USSR. This has led to an expansion in the UN's involvement in global affairs as the Cold War vetoing of UN missions has, at least temporarily, ended.

8. Current Peacekeeping Operations: In April 1995, the UN was conducting a total of 14 missions in places as diverse as Lebanon, Cyprus, Angola, Georgia, Haiti and El Salvador. These operations are projected to cost the UN $3.1 billion in 1995 and will require the deployment of over 60,000 military and civilian personnel. Finding adequate funds is a growing problem for all peacekeeping operations. Monetary contributions for UN peacekeeping operations are based on an assessment of each member state's national GNP. In 1995 the US will pay 31.2 percent of the UN's peacekeeping expenses and provide 1 percent of it's troops.

9. Instruction to Students: Read FM 100-23 to Appendix A, pages 61 on. Answer the following questions: From here, you are to answer questions 3-4 on the student worksheet. When you have finished these questions return to paragraph 11.

a. Who is responsible for the following aspects of UN peacekeeping operations:

(1) The organization, conduct and direction of UN peacekeeping operations?

(2) The day-to-day operational matters affecting Peace Operations?

(3) The administration and financial support of peacekeeping operations?

b. Summarize the UN's planning process for Peace Operations in 30 words or less.

PART TWO - PEACE OPERATIONS

10. Instruction to Students: Read the Introduction to FM 100-23, pages IV-VI and Answer the following questions:

a. What are the three types of activities that fall under Peace Operations?

b. What potential belligerent groups, apart from conventional forces, may US forces encounter in an OOTW situation?

c. What is the ultimate measure of success in Peace Operations?

11. Open the glossary to FM 100-23, page 101 and following. Answer the following questions:

a. What is the definition of Peace Operations?

b. What is the definition of peace-enforcement?

c. What is the definition of peacekeeping?

12. Read FM 100-23, pages 2-12 and answer the following questions:

a. What are the types of activities conducted as military Support to Diplomacy?

b. What are the types of military activities conducted under Peacekeeping?

c. What are the types of military activities conducted under Peace-enforcement?

d. What is the desired end state when an operation is planned to forcibly separate belligerents?

c. What are the main differences between peacekeeping and peace-enforcement operations?

13. Read FM 100-23 and answer the following question:

a. How do the principles of Peace Operations differ from the principles of OOTW?

14. Read FM 100-23, pages 44-47 and answer the following questions:

a. What source of intelligence is often more important in OOTW than it is for conventional operations?

b. What does the S2 often have to focus his or her understanding of a Peace Operations situation on?

c. What is the principle difference between conventional IPB and IPB for Peace Operations?

d. For which potential threats should intelligence analysts determine COAs in a peace operations situation?

e. What major steps should US planners take to ensure that intelligence products in a Peace Operation can be passed to all parties in joint or multinational operations?

15. A Current US Experience: The following points are drawn from the experiences of two US officers (one Army MI, one Air force) who were attached to the UN Observer Mission in Georgia, UNOMIG. The following personal observations were made about serving with the UN as an observer/monitor as part of a multinational force:

a. UNOMIG is charged with facilitating a negotiated settlement of the conflict between Georgia and the Abkhazia and consists of 133 military personnel, of whom the three largest contingents are Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Hungarians, and 100 UN civilians. In addition, the UN High Commission for Refugees, the Red Cross, and doctors without borders are present in the area.

b. The following problems that UNOMIG faced were highlighted:

(1) There was no mission statement, no end state, and no success criteria.

(2) Poor troop quality. The majority of the UN troops are not able to speak Russian and have little English. Many of them cannot drive. Their discipline is poor and there have been several incidents of sexual harassment of the locals. He had the impression that many of the UN troops saw this mission as a chance to earn money as they were receiving $85 a day from the UN. In contrast, the US soldiers are all Russian speakers and they received two weeks training on conduct after capture, mine awareness, survival and evasion and defensive driving before deployment.

(3) A significant situational threat. The Observers are unarmed in an area where there is widespread proliferation of weapons, a culture of violence and where mines have been spread in large numbers over the countryside.

(4) The force was poorly supported. There were no maps, no communications and little logistic support.

(5) There was no intelligence support. This was a problem from the top down, as the commander had given no direction and the troops had showed no interest. Although an information' officer did exist, his single source of information was the BBC World News. There were no arrangements in place for debriefing the observers, incident tracking or recording personality data.

(6) Finally, there was a lack of co-operation and co-ordination between the UN and the NGOs.

c. You may be surprised to hear that these officers thought the mission was doing some good. He believed that the mere presence of UN troops helped, at a minimum, to limit civilian casualties, cease-fire violations and border incidents. Although he recognized that the mission was nothing but a Band-Aid measure which did not address the underlying causes of the conflict, it had been successful in preventing the escalation of hostilities in the short term.

PART THREE - ADDITIONAL READING

16. If you finish the above reading and the student worksheet, read the following extracts from "Peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace-enforcement: The US role in the new international order." Donald M. Snow, published by the Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College, February 1993.

a. An Expanded role for the UN?: Individuals and groups within nation states have international rights that in some cases (such as atrocities against them supersede the sovereign right to govern and assert an international right to intervene in such instances, an idea formally proclaimed by UN Secretary General Boutros-ghali under the principle of universal sovereignty. This is the underlying concept for UN sanctions of efforts in Somalia, as stated in Security Council Resolution 794. The resolution states in part, that the magnitude of the human tragedy constitutes a threat to international peace and security.' The Secretary General has issued his "Agenda for Peace" (which) suggests a greatly expanded UN role in peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace-enforcement. It also reflects fundamental underestimation of what is involved in such actions. The secretary General fails to distinguish adequately between peacekeeping and peace-enforcement.

b. The Role of the Media in Defining US Vital Interests: The global (media) coverage of atrocious violence can create the public perception of vital interest (one worth fighting over) on humanitarian grounds in situations where a more dispassionate, abstract analysis would not suggest that intensity of interest.

c. Unsolvable Root Causes: Former Yugoslavia was, after all, one of the most artificial of nation-states, with multiple nationalities speaking three different languages, employing two different alphabets and confessing two sects of Christianity in addition to Islam. The feuds that underlay the conflict go back centuries, even millennia, and much of the animosity in the current situation reflects the still felt wounds of World War Two, where large numbers of Croatians supported Germany while Serbs formed the backbone of resistance to Nazi rule. (It is true) that outside military force cannot address or solve any of these problems, which are political and not military.

d. The Case for Considered Intervention: "The use of force should be restricted to occasions where the good will outweigh the loss of lives and other costs that will surely ensue." Colin Powell, quoted in "Foreign Affairs" article.

17. If you finish the above reading, read the following extracts from "The Army and Multinational Peace operations: Problems and Solutions." William J. Doll and Steven Metz, published by the Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College, November 29 1993.

a. Divided Loyalties in Multinational Peace operations: National contingents in multinational peace operations represent both the UN and their own country. They thus have two chains of command. Problems arise when these two loyalties conflict. Similarly, national contingents may have hidden agendas and ulterior motives that only become clear over time. This is especially true of contingents from nations with direct political or economic interests in a conflict. (Note to Students: FM 100-23 states that one of the principles of OOTW operations is unity of effort).

b. Intelligence Problems: The UN avoids the word "intelligence" since it connotates spying and other intrusive activities. Instead, it prefers "information." A major problem for the US is sanitization of intelligence for dissemination to other coalition partners. This must consider protection of sources and assets as well as political sensitivities. A force commander must also use information provided by nongovernment organizations (including the media) without compromising them or jeopardizing their security.

c. Understanding the Root Causes: Any conflict involves a wide number of parties, each with distinct capabilities, objectives, and perspectives. Most conflicts represent the culmination of a long chain of events. The history of the conflict is thus germane to its present and its future.

d. The Need to be Mentally Flexible: The most pressing tasks for the Army are not changes in procedures, doctrine, force structure, organization, or training, but in attitudes.

e. Civilian Primacy: Whenever possible, military operations should be subordinate to and complement diplomatic, political, and humanitarian efforts. Put in military terminology, humanitarian affairs are the primary effort and military activity the supporting effort in most peace operations. This requires a fundamental change in attitude since trained warfighters must understand that the ultimate objective of peace operations is not to seize, defend, or deter, but to save, sustain and comfort.