On February 29, 2004, only ten years after the United States last intervened in Haiti to reinstall President Jean Bertrand Aristide, U.S. military forces once again entered Haiti to stabilize the country after President Aristide fled as violence gripped the country. However, unlike the 20,000 troops, significant resources, and ambitious objectives of Operation Uphold Democracy in 1994, the recent intervention was executed with a much smaller force, with much more limited United States government goals, objectives, and expectations. This paper will analyze the events leading to the U.S. decision to intervene and the rationale to limit US objectives and participation. It will then examine the planning, organization, objectives, and effectiveness of the Multinational Interim Force’s (MIF) and the transfer of responsibility to the UN stabilization force. The paper will conclude with recommendations on how the US may build upon and strengthen the demonstrated capacity for collective security operations for Latin America and the Caribbean in the future.
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It is the tragic events of September 11, 2001 what set a before and after in terms of hemispheric and international security. This long anticipated "catastrophic or massive terrorism" showed up in the one country that rules international security. From then on, there has been an accelerated development of reflections or thoughts that have been shaping a true long-term Grand Strategy with such significance that it has been compared to the ones developed during the early days of the Cold War. The destabilizing mix of "terrorist governments" and "villains", international terrorist networks, and their tactical or strategic partners, whether at regional or national levels, and the non-conventional weapon proliferation have become a main concern for many coming decades. Under such context, the National Security Strategy (NSS) provides a sharp and sophisticated review of the interaction and cooperation between international terrorism and organized crime, as well as the need to limit the spread of "ungoverned regions or areas" and "weak governments" where this non-governmental actors may be based. Given the nature of these threats, any bilateral and multilateral cooperation efforts for security purposes, defense policies and any funding and goods flows acquire crucial significance. Under such context, the Rule of Law and strength of a democratic government, together with its institutions, become strategically important for any non-governmental enemies that regard such "weak governments" and "non-liberal democracies" as fertile ground for their actions.
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In the aftermath of September 11th many commentators expressed renewed concerns that the United States' reliance on the Middle East as a petroleum source made it politically and economically dependent upon an unstable region. Most of these observers also voiced a sense of pessimism about the United States' ability to change this situation. Yet in fact the United States' energy position is now stronger than it appears, and there is reason to believe that it will improve in the future, because of the growing importance of Canada as a source of petroleum. According to Canada's National Energy Board, Canada has the world's largest deposit of oil sands, which may equal or exceed the proven petroleum reserves of Saudi Arabia. Canada is already the largest exporter of petroleum to the United States, and its production will likely triple this decade. This will place renewed pressure on OPEC, weaken the political influence of Saudi Arabia and greatly strengthen the United States' energy position. This paper will describe the rapid changes in Canada's petroleum industry, and how this may affect the United States from a security perspective.
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Both the phenomenon of terrorism and our conception of it depend on historical context—political, social, and economic—and how the countries, groups and individuals who participate in or respond to the actions we call terrorism related to the world in which they act. The causes and effects of terrorism are comprehensible only in terms of political conflicts in specific historical periods. The current gap between Latin America and the United States on the conception of terrorism and the policy guidance that will establish a common anti-terrorist strategy in the Western Hemisphere respond to the unpredictability and dynamic of this phenomenon. Therefore, in order to reduce this present gap we require an effective guide to anti-terrorist policy formulation in Latin America and the United States under a common, clear, and prospective strategy that will be able to establish, enforce, and continually refine a holistic political-military plan and generate consistent national and international support.
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In the aftermath of the worst terrorist attack to date, many are discussing how best to fight what some call the new war of the 21st century. Amb. Javier Ruperz comments on how the world must respond to the September 11 events drawing on lessons learned from Spain's 30 year struggle with terrorism. He argues for overwhelming and efficient international action against terrorism in all its forms, and wherever it occurs. In this action, he insists that democratic governments must uphold the rule of law, for if society does not maintain its moral superiority in this war, it will make itself an easy victim of future terrorist acts.
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Are arms races and military arms modernization programs the same thing, in other words, a competition for military supremacy? This is an important question, as some countries in South America have acquired and are currently acquiring high-tech arms systems. The criteria for a military arms modernization program differ from those that characterize a traditional arms race. Not only are the variables that lead to and condition the outbreak of an arms competition fundamentally dissimilar from arms modernization programs, but the contextual framework within which this phenomenon occurs is essentially different. That said, to what extent can these arms modernization programs generate perceptions of insecurity?
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