Besides the role in America’s major conflicts and the Cold War, the nation’s military forces have been involved in several peace-keeping missions in recent years. The most prominent have been in the Balkans of Eastern Europe (Bosnia and Kosovo). A short-term mission was the ill-fated one in Somalia in Africa. These are not the kind of combat missions we tend to think of, but U.S. troops have died in all three. Apparently none of the casualties in these missions were from Northeastern Minnesota.

Some military analysts see such missions as the likeliest use of America’s military in years ahead. Our military forces have also been used in the last century to protect the economic and political interests – as contrasted to humanitarian missions – in places like Panama, Lebanon, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.

<< Back to Conflict List >>