And if America had such a force at its disposal, it would rarely need to use it—its mere presence would be a remarkable deterrent against would-be aggressors. In last Sunday’s New York Times, Richard Holbrooke, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, explained that the renewed violence in Bosnia is a “reaction” to “a new administration perceived as more passive in the Balkans.” Militants become belligerent when they know that they will get away with it. Knowing that U.S. peacekeepers were ready and willing to intervene against them would force these militants to think twice before pursuing their fanatical agendas.

We return now to our original objection-that peacekeeping is not in America’s “vital interest.” Because we do not accrue any economic or strategic advantage by peacekeeping, it is not worth spending billions of dollars and risking the lives of American boys and girls. We have no “interest” in such things.

Well, it is time that peacekeeping became an American “interest.” There is something unsavory about a country that is willing to send its soldiers to fight a war to stabilize oil prices, but not to protect an entire nation from annihilation. With the richest and most sophisticated military in the world, America has a moral duty to prevent human catastrophe when it can. We must not wait for another Rwanda or Kosovo to remind us of the importance of peacekeeping. It is time for America to create a permanent peacekeeping force and to become “interested” in humanity.

Nader R. Hasan ’02 is a government concentrator in Lowell House. His column appears on alternate Wednesdays.