The Fog of Peace
Planning and Executing the Restoration of Panama
Description:... This study addresses the effects of Operation JUST CAUSE in Panama. It raises questions about where post-conflict activities belong in the planning and execution processes. The author demonstrates the interaction of the Active Components and the Reserve, both day-today and in extraordinary circumstances. He explores the interagency arena and uncovers the weakness of the interaction between the military and other government agencies. While he shows that the Unified Command system is eminently well adapted to achieving operational success, he points out that, in the complex post-cold war world, it is not adequate to the task of independently effecting strategic success. The study challenges the military reader to look beyond the purely military in seeking ways to apply military resources effectively to the termination of conflict. It challenges the civilian reader to see military resources as among the tools available to the U.S. Government during the transition from war to peace as well as in the twilight world of low intensity conflict. Finally, the study demonstrates that post-conflict activities are perhaps the critical phase of the military campaign. In that case, achieving the strategic political-military objectives will depend on the extent of integrated, effective interagency planning for the conduct of the war and the associated civil-military operations. Panama; Operation JUST CAUSE; post-conflict activities; civil-military operations.
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