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2006-11-15 05:30:40 · 4 answers · asked by Vincent A 1 in Politics & Government Military

4 answers

Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is "a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace."[1]. Peacekeepers monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict areas and assist ex-combatants in implementing the peace agreements they may have signed. Such assistance comes in many forms, including confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law, and economic and social development. Accordingly UN peacekeepers (often referred to as Blue Helmets because of their light blue helmets) can include soldiers, civilian police officers, and other civilian personnel.

The Charter of the United Nations gives the UN Security Council the power and responsibility to take collective action to maintain international peace and security. For this reason, the international community usually looks to the Security Council to authorize peacekeeping operations, and all UN Peacekeeping missions must be authorized by the Security Council.

Most of these operations are established and implemented by the United Nations itself with troops serving under UN operational command. In these cases, peacekeepers remain members of their respective armed forces, and do not constitute an independent "UN army," as the UN does not have such a force. In cases where direct UN involvement is not considered appropriate or feasible, the Council authorizes regional organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the Economic Community of West African States, or coalitions of willing countries to undertake peacekeeping or peace-enforcement tasks.

The United Nations is not the only organization to have authorized peacekeeping missions, although some would argue it is the only group legally allowed to do so. Non-UN peacekeeping forces include the NATO mission in Kosovo and the Multinational Force and Observers on the Sinai Peninsula.

Jean-Marie Guéhenno currently serves as the head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO).

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November 5, 2006: After over 30 years, U.S. Army troops are returning to Vietnam. These training specialists will help to upgrade the combat capabilities of the Vietnamese forces. Because American troops are now the most combat experienced in the world, they are much in demand as trainers. Vietnam, on the other hand, has not seen combat since 1979, when there was a brief border war with China. There, the combat experienced Vietnamese beat up on the Chinese, who had not been in large scale combat (there had been some border skirmishes with Russia and India) since the 1950s.

Peacekeeping?

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http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htun/default.aspx

2006-11-15 06:03:22 · answer #1 · answered by sassy 6 · 0 0

They are only allowed to stand there and "keep the peace," ergo, one must assume there is a peace to keep.
Consider the Peacekeepers - most of them Belgians and Canadians who had to stand by and watch hundreds of thousands of Rwandans being slaughtered while their bosses in New York - the U.N. - would not allow them to intervene.
Similar situation in Bosnia - thousands killed while the "Blue Helmets" stood by.
THEY DIDN'T WANT TO! They wanted to help! They were not allowed!
Watch "Hotel Rwanda" - or better yet, read the books on the Rwandan genocide. The U.N. couldn't even agree what a "genocide" was. Shameful.
This is why we have a U.N.? I'd rather have the property back so somebody can pay property tax and throw the so-called diplomats out of the country.

2006-11-15 05:50:26 · answer #2 · answered by 34th B.G. - USAAF 7 · 0 0

It's dirty work. It's hard to keep your wits when the bastards are all around you trying to kill you. It's more police work than military.

2006-11-15 05:50:39 · answer #3 · answered by Jim G 4 · 0 0

They can only work if there is a peace to keep.

2006-11-15 05:33:16 · answer #4 · answered by yupchagee 7 · 0 0

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