Blue Helmets: The Strategy of U.N. Military Operations
Another contribution to the burgeoning literature on peacekeeping as a military problem. A clear and interesting work, sponsored by the Association of the U.S. Army, it makes the now conventional distinction between traditional and second-generation peacekeeping -- the latter being more "bellicose and complex." of greatest utility, in addition to a good bibliography and a generally sound narrative, is the exploration of the organizational aspects of U.N. peacekeeping operations. The author concludes that the United Nations should not be expected, or asked, to conduct real military operations. This is, therefore, a muted plea for leaving peace operations that might entail fighting to national armies and traditional coalitions.
Related
The tools and techniques for waging war never stand still, but these are the early days of a revolution in military affairs as momentous as those wrought by the railroad and the airplane. This newest transformation is a consequence of developments in civilian society including the information revolution and postindustrial capitalism. Its satellite imagery and smart bombs will change the forms of combat and armies. Personnel and politics, as always, will be as crucial as technology.
Since it first emerged in 1997, avian influenza has become deadlier and more resilient. It has infected 109 people and killed 59 of them. If the virus becomes capable of human-to-human transmission and retains its extraordinary potency, humanity could face a pandemic unlike any ever witnessed.
The United States may be an uncontested military superpower, but it remains defenseless against a new mode of attack: information warfare. As the military, the private sector, and Washington grow increasingly dependent on computers and information networks, they also grow more vulnerable to cyber-attack. Cyberspace is becoming the new front line of warfare, and private citizens are the new prime target. U.S. policymakers and technology entrepreneurs must wake up to this threat and build a wall of defense -- now.
