Strategic Purpose of U.S. Military Foreign Humanitarian Assistance Operations

U.S. military involvement in foreign humanitarian assistance operations should meet strategic parameters that support U.S. national security interests. Foreign humanitarian assistance demonstrates U.S. goodwill and support for national governments in times of need, and also offers the United States an opportunity to demonstrate U.S. values abroad, support human rights, and enhance regional security. If not orchestrated in the context of pursuing national security interests, U.S. military involvement in foreign humanitarian assistance operations can largely be ineffectual opportunities that consume precious and ever scarcer resources, overextend the military, and put Americans in danger. U.S. military foreign humanitarian assistance operations, a powerful and effective nonkinetic element of national power, should be grounded in U.S. strategic purpose and used judiciously to mitigate human suffering in the event of natural or man-made disasters. This paper will review relevant terms and definitions as well as discuss the theories of Realism and Idealism in international relations. Analysis of current U.S. strategic guidance establishes the contemporary context of U.S. military involvement in foreign humanitarian assistance operations. Two historical case studies will be presented: the Berlin Airlift (1948-1949) and Somalia (1992-1994). The analysis of these case studies will illustrate how well the operations supported U.S. national security interests. The analysis also will provide a basis for recommendations to define parameters for U.S. policymakers that link U.S. military involvement in foreign humanitarian assistance operations to U.S. national security interests.