Naval War College

To accelerate the Taliban's removal from power in Afghanistan, the U.S. has allied itself with a loose coalition of ethnic groups under the banners of the Northern Alliance, Eastern Alliance, and southern Pashtun tribes. This union provided a backhanded strike at the Taliban regime by re-igniting a ground war with only a modest deployment of U.S. ground forces. While the operation in Afghanistan falls under the mantle of "war," U.S. foreign policy has grappled with smaller engagements throughout the world. In many cases, these deployments reflected "important" or "humanitarian" national interests as opposed to "vital" national interests. Whereas operations in pursuit of "vital" national interests might clearlywarrant the use of our armed forces and the accompanying risk of casualties, interventions on lesser grounds tend to divide the nation in debate over the requisite costs in blood and treasure. Consequently, our national altruism and desire to erase injustices from the world is tempered by an equally fervent intolerance for prolonged conflict and excessive casualties. Surrogate armies bridge this gap.

To enhance the Rule of Law, Mexico has attempted to significantly change its entire system of laws, by moving towards a more transparent justice system, more akin to the open adversarial system possessed by the United States than the closed inquisitorial system employed for most of the 20th century in Mexico. Unfortunately, these constitutional, legislative and professional reforms made to the Mexican justice system, while a step in the right direction, have not yet yielded the desired effect of vastly improving the Rule of Law. This book analyzes key areas of the Mexican justice system and compares them to internationally accepted standards relating to the Rule of Law. Next, recently enacted reforms to the Mexican justice system are reviewed in order to determine whether these initiatives have had a significant effect on improving the system of justice in Mexico. Finally, the book makes recommendations on the way ahead for Mexico in its journey to obtain stability through adherence to the Rule of Law. Ultimately, it is the author's contention that the current efforts to reform Mexico's legal system have inadequately addressed the most significant issues relating to the establishment of a fair and just legal systemin Mexico.

The current world order is such that unilateral military action on the part of the United States is highly unlikely. Consequently, when employed, American forces are required to function as part of an alliance or coalition. Such multinational operations present unique challenges, so it is vitalthe correct lessons be learned from each opportunity. Formal procedures have been established to capture "lessons learned" from recent combined operations. However, short shrift is often given to more historical experiences. Is it possible to learn something relevant to present-day or future operations from "dated" events, such as the American Revolution?By examining French-American operations of the Revolution through the lens of present day principles of war, military operations other than war, and multinational operations, it is evident these historical operations offer information relevant today. Failed French-American operations were found lacking in tenets such as unity of effort, unity of command, and mutual confidence. Conversely, these same principles were successfully applied in the victory at Yorktown. Military leaders must understand that history can provide potential answers to questions regarding present-day and future multinational operations. Also, it is important to understand that the level of trust, comfort, and respect required to conduct military operations with our allies cannot be quickly attained.