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Blog Posts by Ron Capps

In Peacekeeping, size does matter
May 16, 2011 Ron Capps Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, United Nations, Peacekeeping
One of the things that we look at regularly on the peacekeeping team is how peacekeeping missions evolve over time.  Some of the missions standing today have been in operation for far longer than you might imagine. The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) operates from its headquarters in Jerusalem and has been in operation since 1948. Yep, 1948.
Libya: Is there a place for military intervention?
March 02, 2011 Ron Capps Africa, Libya, Libya, Middle East, Peacekeeping
With all the turmoil in the Middle East over the past few weeks, we've been more or less glued to Al Jazeera watching regimes fall. The regime in danger this week is, of course, that of Muammar al-Qaddafi in Libya.  

Qaddafi came to power in 1972, overthrowing King Idriss while the King was out of the country for medical care. For almost 40 years, he has shown himself to be ruthless and murderous. He is also quite mentally unstable.
The PEP Launches New and Improved Web Resource for Peacekeeping Advocates
May 13, 2010 Ron Capps

A few years ago, in 2001, some Washington DC-based advocacy groups thought the time was right to ask Congress to support a standing United Nations peace support force. That force, widely known as the UN Emergency Peace Service, hasn't come to pass and likely won't. But the mechanism the advocates set up to support their cause, the Partnership for Effective Peacekeeping (PEP), does exist and will for the foreseeable future.

Iraq & Afghanistan: An Orderly Departure
April 28, 2010 Ron Capps Afghanistan, Iraq
Thirty-five years ago this week, Saigon fell to advancing North Vietnamese troops. Even this many years later, the images are indelible: Helicopters landing on the roof of the embassy; American sailors pushing helicopters off of the deck of a carrier as more hover alongside waiting to unload American citizens; and refugees fleeing the North Vietnamese Army's advance.
The American Military and Its Unrealized Peacekeeping Potential
March 16, 2010 Ron Capps Peacekeeping
The American military is stretched pretty thin these days. We're in two wars; we have lots of global commitments. On any given day, one third of our troops are actually involved in an operation, one third are getting ready to go and one third have just come back. Busy.