A Case Study on the U.S. Policy in Humanitarian Intervention

In the past 16 years, the U.S. has intervened militarily in approximately 20 crises ranging from feeding the Kurds in Iraq in 1990 to ousting a corrupt regime from Haiti in 2004. Given the current international security environment, it is likely that the U.S. will continue to intervene militarily in non-permissive environments to provide humanitarian assistance. Therefore, theU.S. must develop a current policy to address such why, when, and how the U.S. will participate in such operations. Analysis of case studies of humanitarian intervention (HI) in Somalia, Rwanda, and Liberia provides lessons learned to identify the conditions for U.S. participation and to shape the policy necessary for those participations. Although many lessons can be learned from analyzing these case studies, this paper addresses only those lessons crucial to developing a coherent HI policy. Lessons include ensuring a linkage to national interests and security, ensuring the HI addresses the root-cause of the conflict, accepting that HI risks American lives, and ensuring the appropriate allocation of national resources. Finally, the paper provides six recommendations in developing a coherent HI policy.