Peace with Honor: Enduring Truths, Lessons Learned and Implications for a Durable Peace in Bosnia

摘要

American troops, together with our NATO and Partnership for Peace allies, have been keeping the peace in Bosnia since 1996. Militarily, this mission has been and overwhelming success. The warring factions have been separated and peace restored, and the people of Bosnia have resumed their lives without fear of massacre or atrocity. Politically, however, Bosnia is no closer to an enduring peace than it was when the Dayton Accords were first signed. The mission of the NATO peacekeepers continues. This paper offers thoughts on a way ahead for, or a way out of the Bosnia mission. Its central premise is that further actions are needed now to transform the NATO-imposed military peace of today into an enduring political-social peace for tomorrow. Along the way, the author outlines a series of peacekeeping lessons learned from the Bosnia deployment and explains the impact of history on the current situation. As the United States Army continues to be deployed on peacekeeping and peace- enforcement operations throughout the world, it is important to learn how to implement an exit strategy tailored to each situation so that temporary missions do not become permanent occupations. This work is an important analysis of the things done right and the things done wrong iii the Bosnia peacekeeping mission. The author's conclusions may be useful in furthering the process in Bosnia and as a starting point for future peace operations.