In the Wake of Unified Response

My latest column at WPR nods at some of the difficulties of a soft power oriented military policy:

Washington's objectives in Haiti were fourfold: save lives, prevent a mass exodus, look good, and get out. The United States managed to accomplish the first, second and fourth goals, and for a while, it even appeared to make solid progress on the third. Preventing an exodus was probably the most important U.S. goal, and by all accounts the intervention appears to have succeeded on this point. Getting out quickly was also important in order to defuse criticism at home and abroad of another large-scale foreign deployment. However, while the United States may have done good in Haiti, the aftermath of the earthquake will be remembered more for the enduring chaos than for the quick and effective response of the United States military.