45 Crowds, Mobs and Nonlethal Weapons

by CWO-5 Sid Heal, US Marine Corps Reserve

Peacemaking is neither

painless nor easy but fraught with danger, misperceptions and criticism.

According to one political leader, "Making peace, I have found, is much

harder than making war."1 To accomplish those difficult peace-keeping

missions, being considered just is more important than being considered

powerful. The payoff can be substantial, for "the greatest honor history

can bestow is that of peacemaker."2

Peacekeeping as Warfighting

An examination of peacekeeping and warfight-ing, despite their similarities,

is a study of contrasts. First, peacekeeping operations are highly sensitive

to political objectives and tend to cast the military in a supporting,

rather than a leading role. The military has developed doctrine and honed

procedures to prepare for and execute war. Peacekeeping operations, however,

present new problems for which there are few readily apparent solutions.

Second, adversaries during peacekeeping operations are often amorphous

and difficult to identify. Factions with shifting loyalties and alliances

can be friend one day and foe the next