Case 210 - Operation Restore Hope: The Bush Administration's Decision to Intervene in Somalia

Cusimano, Maryann K.

This two-part case study explores the George H.W. Bush administration’s final major foreign policy action: the 1992 decision to conduct a humanitarian intervention in Somalia to stop the widespread starvation in that country. This examination of Operation Restore Hope highlights such issues as America’s role in the post-Cold War world; the usefulness and limitations of military force; the role of moral concerns in U.S. foreign policy; and the responsibility of the international community to protect endangered populations. It could be usefully paired with “Key Decisions in the Somalia Intervention” (Case Study 211).