A Strategic Buffet: What The Brahimi Report Says About UN Peace Operations And The Opportunities It Offers To The Regional U.S. Unified Commanders

Abstract

The Brahimi Report is an effort by the Secretary-General of the UN to improve the operational capabilities of the UN to conduct peace operations. During the Cold War the UN enjoyed decades of success by conducting small peacekeeping operations that depended on the consent of the belligerents. In the 1990's the UN dramatically expanded its peace operations. These expanded operations occurred without the consent of the belligerents and posed a greater military challenge than the UN could meet. The release of the UN reports on the massacres in Rwanda and the fall of Srebrenica in 1999, as well as the operational difficulties encountered by the four new missions started that year prompted a complete assessment of UN peacekeeping capabilities. The results of that assessment, known as the Brahimi Report, proposed fundamental changes in the practices and the culture of the United Nations. These included better mission planning for peace operations, increasing the size of UN units in the field from battalions to brigades, and developing higher standards for training and equipping of forces before permitting them to deploy to UN missions. Whether the UN adopts it recommendations the Brahimi Report is important to U.S. regional Commanders-in-Chief (CINCs) for two reasons. The success or failure of UN missions is a matter of U.S. significant military interest. The changes recommended by the Brahimi Report provide a strategic buffet of peacetime engagement opportunities with foreign countries. By supporting the recommendations of the Brahimi Report the U.S. CINCs can shape the international community to prepare for an uncertain future and advance U.S. objectives of security, human rights, and democracy.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 18, 2001
Accession Number
ADA392886

Entities

People

  • Sherrod L. Bumgardner

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Cold War
  • Congress
  • Governments
  • Human Rights
  • International Law
  • International Relations
  • Law
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Operations
  • Military Personnel
  • National Governments
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • United States
  • United States European Command
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • International Relations and Conflict Resolution
  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.