Stabilization and Post-Conflict Operations: The Role of the Military

摘要

The military invariably conducts conflict and post-conflict operations with other agencies. These agencies must be prepared and resourced for their participation, including transition from or to serving as lead-agency for the operation. The Department of Defense (DoD) needs to define war or conflict more broadly, and incorporate other agencies, especially Department of State (DoS), into its planning and execution phases much earlier and more completely than is now the practice. The military's changing role requires it to better understand world cultures where it operates and the organizational cultures of agencies with whom it works. The DoS has begun the organizational change necessary to become an equal operational partner with the military, but remains inadequately funded. The United States clearly recognizes the need for international peacekeeping partners; its difficulty is to determine the appropriate role for those collaborators, to determine needs for assistance to become better partners, and to effectively manage that assistance.