October-December 1995
International Peacekeeping:
Who Should Police the World's Hot Spots?
With the Cold War over and no enemies in sight, The United States was in a unique position to influence the course of world events. Yet in the view of many, the U.S. appeared to be drifting toward renewed confrontation. Was it America's job to keep the peace in Bosnia and other hot spots? Friends and former foes alike were frustrated by what they saw as U.S. unwillingness to lead and commit resources to the foreign policies we preached. We asked our guests to discuss the following questions:
- Was the UN still our "last, best hope for peace" or a conspiracy to steal our sovereignty and impose a New World Order? Should we have given it greater support or pulled out altogether?
- With a cease-fire in Bosnia, would the U.S. deliver its promise to send 25,000 soldiers to police the peace?
- At $12 billion a year, foreign aid was far less than most Americans realized. Much of it was military aid to four countries -- Israel, Egypt, Greece, and Turkey. Was it really in our national interest to give so much to so few and so little to all the rest?
The Mainstream Media Project enlisted 19 authorities on peacekeeping issues and secured 92 interviews. We urged our spokespeople to raise the kind of broader issues about cooperative security and international peacekeeping that seldom attract public concern. Our commentators landed on all sides of the issue, the fact that we had no single answer to the Bosnia conundrum was not a reason to withdraw from the debate. The post-Cold War world is riddled with such ironies and ambiguities. Our spokespeople articulated their vision of how peacekeeping machinery and preventive diplomacy could be strengthened to produce a better set of choices and outcomes in the future.
Guest Speakers
Barry Blechman, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
Mindy Burrell, Issues Director, World Federalists Association
Adm. Eugene Carroll (ret.), Deputy Director, Center for Defense Information
Joseph Cirincione, Senior Associate, Henry L. Stimson Center
Jonathan Dean, Former Ambassador; Senior Advisor, Union of Concerned Scientists
Bill Durch, Senior Researcher, Henry L. Stimson Center
David Evans, Communications Director, Business Executives for National Security (BENS)
Hazel Henderson, Alternative Economist
William Vanden Heuvel, President, UN Association of USA; Former Ambassador
Victoria Holt, Director, Project on Peacekeeping and the United Nations, Council for a Livable World
Steven Kull, Director, Program on International Policy Attitudes, University of Maryland
Joanne Landy, Executive Director, Campaign for Peace and Democracy
Jeffrey Laurenti, Executive Director of Policy Studies, UN Association of the USA
Robert Oakley, Former Special Envoy to Somalia
James Paul, Executive Director, Global Policy Forum
Michael Shuman, Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies
Michael Simmons, Director, East-West Program, American Friends Service Committee
Col. Dan Smith (ret.), Associate Director, Center for Defense Information
Amy Smithson, Senior Associate, Henry L. Stimson Center
Joe Volk, Executive Secretary, Friends Committee on National Legislation
Paul Walker, Former Lead Staffer, House Armed Services Committee
Jennifer Weeks, Representative for Arms Control and International Security, Union of Concerned Scientists
