Despite all the circumambient dysfunction and trouble we see today, I’m taking a break from all of it to update you on happier news.
My publisher, the University Press of Kentucky, has announced that my latest book, Yanks in Blue Berets: American UN Peacekeepers in the Middle East, will be released for publication on Independence Day, 2023. But you do not need to wait until the 4th of July to order one. Preorders are being accepted at the link above.
So, what is this book about? Few people are aware that for years, since the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948, American military officers have been detailed to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO). Their mission—as unarmed observers—was to supervise the ceasefire between Israel and Arab neighbors who were engaged in combat.
In 1981 as a U.S. Army Captain, I was assigned to UNTSO to take up duties as a peacekeeper. This book chronicles my experience along with other American military observers from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force. All of us found ourselves wedged between warring parties to keep the peace. We were unarmed and the weapons we had in our holsters were our wits and professionalism to deal with the violence that encircled us.
Framed by my personal experiences and those of my American and international colleagues who served in UNTSO, I tell this story, not only through my eyes, but also with the direct testimony of sixteen other officers who shared their stories with me. This is the first time these events have been chronicled in a book of this nature.
The book examines the difficulties faced by UN forces situated between warring sides with limited trust in their authority as well as the challenging dichotomy of a soldier trained for combat yet immersed in unarmed peacekeeping. Yanks in Blue Berets is a “boots on the ground” perspective of the building Arab-Israeli tensions and geopolitics preceding the 1982 invasion of Lebanon.
This book takes the reader through the history of warfare in the Middle East that led up to that invasion, a war that was very costly to many nations, including the U.S. You will learn what it was like to serve as unarmed observers in in Damascus Syria, the Golan Heights, and in southern Lebanon, the latter a very violent place. As I note in the book, it was “the Wild West without a good saloon!”
In the process, you will learn about the danger, the challenges, and the frustrations associated with peacekeeping. But you will also learn of the bravery, indeed the devotion to duty and audacity of American military observers and their international partners who served shoulder-to-shoulder in one of the most dangerous regions of the world.
Finally, I walk you thought what happened in UNTSO, our much-diminished role today, and what all of this means for America’s part in promoting peace.
I am sure you will love reading this book as much as I did telling this story. Preorder your copy today!
Meanwhile, if you have not read, Desert Redleg: Artillery Warfare in the First Gulf War. I’m happy to send you an autographed and personalized copy. Just click on the link.
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