Thank UN Peacekeepers for a Safer World

At this very moment, UN peacekeepers around the world are risking their lives in the name of peace.

These men and women in blue helmets – more than 100,000 in total, making them the second largest deployed military in the world – can be found in 16 of the world's most dangerous conflict areas. They are stationed in such hot spots as Lebanon, Haiti and Sudan, and are fighting to preserve and ensure peace.

Sometimes that means disrupting drug trafficking and maintaining law and order. Sometimes it means disarming former combatants and disposing of mines. And sometimes it means organizing elections or helping countries develop legal frameworks to ensure continued justice. In any case, this work is critical to American national security interests, yet it often goes underappreciated in this country and elsewhere.