ABSTRACT
Despite logistical limitations and potential unintended consequences,1 humanitarian military intervention into ongoing conflicts can in some cases save many lives with relatively small military force deployments. An excellent example, in 2003, was Joint Task Force (JTF) Liberia. Comprising only a single Marine amphibious ready group (MARG) of just over 2,000 troops, and deploying only 320 of those troops ashore, the operation facilitated the end of a civil war, helped avert a bloodbath, and paved the way for a democratic transition in a country that had long been wracked by violence.
