Peacekeeping, strictly speaking, is a noncombat military operation deployed with the consent of the major parties to a conflict to monitor or facilitate the implementation of a cease-fire agreement. The United Nations (UN) established its first peacekeeping mission in May 1948 to supervise the truce in Palestine. Since then, the term "peacekeeping operations" (or peace operations) has come to refer also to a wider variety of interventions. Peacekeeping operations more broadly understood are carried out by UN or multilateral forces (such as those of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO) with the purpose of facilitating the establishment and maintenance of peace in a situation of conflict. In the early twenty-first century peacekeeping missions might be deployed to maintain a cease-fire, to assist in the maintenance of a comprehensive settlement, or to protect the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Examples of peacekeeping forces include the United Nations Operation in...