Benefits and Drawbacks of RRF”’

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Benefits and Drawbacks of the RRF
In January 1995, the U.N. Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali proposed the establishment of a U.N. rapid reaction force (RRF). This would reduce supranational authority and increase state sovereignty. Although this idea promised some benefits, it was opposed by several states like the U.S. because of some of its drawbacks. One of the benefits of establishing the RRF is that it could enable the U.N. to respond rapidly to future crises (Langille 219). The U.N. has faced different cases of lack of rapid deployment capability. For instance, the delayed deployment of UNOSOM 1 to Somalia in 1992 handicapped the efforts of the U.N. to prevent deterioration of security in Somalia. Also, in 1992, delays in deployment of UNPROFOR infantry units posed significant risks to the cease-fire in Croatia. Such cases could not have occurred if there was a well-organized and trained Reserve Army.
The standby arrangement would also enhance the efficiency of the U.N. in handling emergencies. According to the idea, member states were to make conditional offers of specified resources which could be availed within specified response times for peacekeeping operations (Langille 230). As such, the RRF could have the necessary resources and competence to respond to crises.
Besides the above benefits, the U.S. failed to support the proposal, citing some of its drawbacks. The first among these problems related to how to develop an effective command and control, adequate, cost-effective logistics and intelligence data gathering and processing (Langille 241).

For the U.S., there was a vast range of budgetary, strategic, military and political implications of the proposal. The U.S. led by Clinton also opposed the proposal because it would diminish the flexibility of strategic planning and stability to respond to other crises. Moreover, the proposal was expensive, and the U.S. feared that it could be called upon to bear a material part of the cost of maintaining the reserve force.
Finally, among the political considerations of developing an RRF was the potential decrease of congregational and other domestic input into the process of decision making on peacekeeping operations. Specifically, Langille explains that the idea created uncertainties as to whether the U.N. would depend on the U.S.’ unique lift capabilities in deploying the RRF (250). Therefore, it was difficult to gauge the political desirability of the idea.

Work Cited
Langille, H. Peter. “Conflict prevention: Options for Rapid Deployment and UN Standing Forces.” International Peacekeeping 7.1 (2000): 219-253.