Romano Dallaire, leder av UNAMIR, FN-styrken i Rwanda under folkemordet, sier FNs nøytrale fredsstyrker tilhører fortiden. Virkeligheten krever et helt sett av virkemidler. Den samme utfordringen gjelder profesjonelle militære som vil ha klare svar. De finnes ikke.

«This is the end of the era of Chapter Six peacekeeping,» he says, referring to the rules of non-engagement that he followed when he was UN commander in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. «In every scenario there is a moderate and then there is an extremist, and the extremists are prepared to abuse their own people and subvert the peace process.»

To counter genocidal belligerents, Dallaire advocates a «Chapter Six-plus,» a neutral force that protects people at risk and can respond to humanitarian demands unimpeded. Part of this plan involves a reconsideration of the term «crimes against humanity»: murder should not be its only interpretation. «If you’re a convoy with food and medical supplies and some idiot doesn’t want to let you through, then that’s a crime against humanity. With my plan, we’d be able to blast our way through it.»

In Dallaire’s estimation, the military must change from top to bottom, beginning with his own rank. «The era of a general who only knows how to fight is gone, especially with the middle powers,» he says, adding that a general must know how to be a diplomat and a humanist, skilled in politics and nuances and nation-building. «Generals who argue that we only go in with clear mandates and time frames -sorry. We’re in an era of complexity and ambiguity, and if you can’t operate in ambiguity, you’ve got a problem.»