A Level Two crisis, as spelled out in PRD-13, would involve trouble in a region where U.S. allies have direct security interests or Washington has secondary concerns, such as an influx of refugees. The proper response, the report says, is to build a coalition, impose pressure and perhaps send troops for a peacekeeping mission, such as the U.N. effort in Bosnia. Level Three includes problems in remote countries where humanitarian concerns might call for intervention. Here, the report calls for U.S. funds but no troops.
White House officials say the report was intended to help Clinton determine when to send peacekeeping forces overseas. But Clinton and national security adviser Tony Lake now see PRD-13 as “a framework for deciding when our interests are at stake,” says an official. The report was nearly ready last fall, before 18 U.S. soldiers were killed in a fire fight in Somalia. Since then it’s been reworked to limit situations when U.S. troops might be sent in harm’s way.
