United States Policy on Humanitarian Intervention Operations and the Role of the Reserve Component

Abstract

Humanitarian intervention, for all practical purposes, can be considered the combined taskings of humanitarian assistance and peace enforcement operations. In other words, the application of military force, or threat of its use, to compel compliance with resolutions or sanctions designated to establish order, restore peace and relieve human suffering. Intervention also implies the need to forcibly deal with one or more belligerents. The military receives this mission when all other elements of national power have been ineffective in relieving human suffering. The purpose of this paper is to examine current United States policy on humanitarian intervention and the feasibility of an expanded role for the Reserve Components in future operations. Policy analysis starts by examining how humanitarian intervention operations find their roots in the National Security Strategy. Current policy is evaluated for its adequacy and recommendations are made for possible changes. The thesis of this paper is that while the current administration does have a policy addressing humanitarian intervention, it is derived from several sources, it does not provide clear guidance for deployment strategies, and the policy deserves a greater degree of clarity. The overall conclusion is that it is feasible to increase the Reserve Components role in humanitarian intervention operations. This provided issues like training, equipping, resourcing, frequency of deployments and civilian employer incentives are addressed. Any policy in regards to humanitarian intervention operations should have as a foundation a clear set of guidelines for commitment of U.S. forces. As a world leader, the United States should have a policy that allows for a consistent application of assistance when faced with the opportunity to relieve human suffering. Current policy does not specifically address these issues with the needed clarity.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 10, 2000
Accession Number
ADA377666

Entities

People

  • Patrick A. Murphy

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Combat Forces
  • Combat Operations
  • Combat Readiness
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Conventional Warfare
  • Department Of Defense
  • Governments
  • Human Rights
  • Military Operations
  • Military Science
  • National Guard
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Training
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • International Relations and Conflict Resolution
  • Military Mobilization and Reserve Forces Studies.
  • Strategic Security Studies