by Friends Committee on National Legislation

About the author: The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) comprises appointed members of the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers. The committee is concerned with many political and social issues, including human rights and American foreign policy, and the views of politicians and government officials toward such issues.

Editor’s note: Ethnic warfare in the Balkans presented this dilemma to European and other nations: whether to intervene militarily and risk the lives of their soldiers and possible escalation of the war, or to withhold forces and risk continued ethnic fighting over territory and more bloodshed. Since many experts predict that future conflicts and wars around the world will similarly erupt from ethnic feuding, nations are likely to face this dilemma again. Thus, the debates and policy decisions regarding military...