Glossary List of
Key Definitions & Acronyms
AUTHORITARIANISM
‘Authoritarianism is a belief in, or the practice of, government ‘from above’, in which political rule is imposed upon society regardless of its consent. Authoritarianism thus differs from authority. The latter rests upon legitimacy [derived from consent of the majority population], and in that sense arises ‘from below’. Authoritarianism is a very broad classification of government. It can be associated with monarchical absolutism, traditional dictatorships and most forms of military rule; and Left-wing and Right-wing versions of authoritarianism can be identified, associated, respectively, with [both] communism and capitalism. However authoritarianism is usually distinguished from totalitarianism, on the grounds that it is primarily concerned with the repression of opposition and political liberty, rather than with the more radical [totalitarian] goal of obliterating the distinction between State and civil society. Authoritarian regimes may therefore tolerate a significant range of economic, religious and other freedom’ (A. Heywood, Key Concepts in Politics, Basingstoke (United Kingdom), Palgrave Macmillan, 2000, p. 158).
CENTRE-LEFT
Either (a) the ‘Traditional Political Left’ of modern socialist liberalism advocating ‘Big Government/Small Citizen and Market Freedoms’, usually leading to the establishment and nurturing of a “Welfare State” or “Nanny-State” that provides continuous ‘hand-outs’ to large segments of an economically-dependent population; or (b) the ‘New Political Left’ of modern social liberalism, focused on promoting a free and independent population, and helping society by creating opportunities for free citizens and then providing access to these opportunities on the basis of merit ( a “Meritocracy” where social and material rewards or freedoms are granted or distributed on the basis of proven or potential individual ‘ability and effort’). Central tenets or beliefs of the Centre-Left are: Idealism, Individualism, Freedom, Reason, Equality, Toleration, Consent, and Constitutionalism. [For more information refer to the writings of the British politician and philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) and the British politician, economist and philosopher John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)].
CENTRE-RIGHT:
Either (a) the ‘Traditional Political Right’ of modern social conservatism advocating ‘Small Government/Large Citizen and Market Freedoms’ in addition to the preservation of traditional social and religious values, and gradual and cautious ‘change in order to conserve’; or (b) the more economically-minded and business-focused ‘New Political Right’ of modern neoliberal-neoconservatism which seeks a ‘Strong but Small State’ while fully promoting and experiencing the benefits and costs of a ‘free market economy’. Central tenets or beliefs of the Centre-Right are: Realism, Tradition, Pragmatism, Human Imperfection, Organicism, Hierarchy, Authority, and Property. [For more information refer to the writings of the British politician and philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) and the British politician/statesman and political theorist Edmund Burke (1729-1797)].
‘FREE AND FAIR’ ELECTIONS
Free and fair Government elections conducted without internal political interference by the current power-holding Government, the current non-power-holding Opposition, the military, or the State’s intelligence services, and protected from all forms of ‘malign and covert’ foreign external influence or coercion in this political process, as well as domestic intimidation by terrorist, insurgent, criminal or aggressively manipulative or intimidating “Bullies at the Voting Booths” political groups.
GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR
The Global War on Terror, involving a militarily kinetic Global War on Terrorists and an associated political and financial Global Campaign against Islamist Terrorism (GCIT), is the ongoing global struggle against Al-Qaeda-led, IS-led, or Other Terror Group-inspired, -directed, -planned or -executed promoters, enacters and acts of Islamist terrorism around the world, together with State-sponsors/protectors, affiliated regional insurgencies, global terror cells, and any enabling political, military or financial friends, allies and partners.
The Global War on Terror began after the September 11th 2001 (“9/11”) terrorist attack directed against American citizens living and working peacefully in Washington D.C. and New York in the homeland of the United States of America. On 9/11 four, civilian, passenger aircraft were hijacked mid-flight by Al-Qaeda operatives in U.S. air space: two planes were flown directly into each of the twin World Trade Centre towers in New York, another struck the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and the fourth was prevented by an uprising of its passengers from reaching its target – likely the White House or Capitol building – and crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people, including not only citizens of America but also international citizens of many other nations around the world, most of whom were unarmed, defenceless and vulnerable civilians either at work in the buildings or in transit on the hijacked flights.
IDEALISM/IDEALISTS
Political ideas, theories and practices based upon a belief that ‘all human beings are reasonable’ and that ‘all human beings are essentially good at heart’ (eventually, if you just dig deep enough..) – a often tightly-held belief that, in fact, is not supported either by world history, experience or contemporary reality in the record of human affairs on the earth. However, idealism is not concerned with how international actors are actually behaving in reality, but rather, how they should behave ideally in an idealistic world. For this reason idealists are often described, regarded, and criticised as utopian or “living in a different dream or fantasy world” – especially by realists (see ‘REALISM’ description below). Idealists are committed to promoting ideals, morals, principles, values and norms, such as “world peace”, justice and international law, which they consider to be more ‘real’ than reality.
Consequently, Idealists also tend to be more concerned with image-based criteria and normative “norm” or “values” judgments, rather than fact-based criteria and the empirical analysis of actors, trends, recent history, experience, or data. Idealists often express the desire to attain certain high and lofty goals in International Relations or International Security, which may or may not be pragmatically achievable or even wise in practice and in reality. Nevertheless, idealists are frequently very vocal and verbally profuse and loud, and will campaign hard to rally others into joining their various often ‘international’, ‘global’ and ‘borderless’ causes towards attaining their own goals.
Idealists are usually to be found among the politicians, advocates and supporters of the Moderate Liberal Socialist “Centre-Left”, Radical Liberal Socialist “Hard-Left”, or Marxist Liberal Socialist “Far-Left/“Extreme-Left” ideologies in the political spectrum (refer to the definition of ‘Liberal Democracy’ provided below).
LEGAL JUSTICE
Impartial, objective, non-politically-influenced, bribe-free, fair and honest justice that is ‘blind to everything else except the facts, existing laws, legal merits and arguments, and morality under God of each specific legal case’ (giving rise to the expression “Justice is Blind”), with: (i) judges, courts, tribunals, and juries showing no regard for the divergent power, social status, wealth, religion, ethnicity, colour, gender, age, opinion, political party affiliation (unless the party is expressly illegal under federal or state law e.g. extreme Neo-Nazi Fascist, Racialist, Islamist, Marxist/Communist, Anarchist or Environmental-Terrorist political parties), political benefit/harm, or financial advantage/disadvantage of various citizens involved in legal cases; (ii) legal judgments and punishments determined under law solely on the proven facts and actions of claimants or defendants in each individual case; and (iii) on a case-by-case basis, and in a general, sequential, ‘first-come, first-serve’ timetable of trials (except in rare emergency situations, for example following a terrorist attack on sovereign territory when urgent legal prosecutions of captured, living, domestic terrorists, who are guilty with evidence of planning, committing or encouraging illegal acts of lethal violence intended to wound or kill one or multiple civilian or military persons, are required for their imprisonment or just execution – if terrorism is designated by the national government as a ‘death penalty crime’ – under existing and enforced State law).
LIBERAL DEMOCRACY [FREEDOM-LOVING DEMOCRACY/DEMOCRACY BASED ON BASIC FREEDOMS AND PROTECTIONS FOR ITS LEGAL CITIZENS]
‘Liberal democracy is a form of democratic rule that balances the principle of limited government against the ideal of popular consent. Its liberal features are reflected in a network of internal and external checks upon government that are designed to guarantee liberty and afford citizens protection against the State. Its ‘democratic’ character is based upon a system of regular and competitive elections, conducted on the basis of universal suffrage [male, female, landowners, non-landowners, rich, poor] and political equality [among all law-abiding citizens (excluding convicted, law-breaking prisoners), no-matter their ethnicity, colour, religion or age from 18-100+ years]. Although it may be used to describe a political principle, the term liberal democracy more commonly describes a particular type of [governmental] regime (A. Heywood, Key Concepts in Politics, Basingstoke (United Kingdom), Palgrave Macmillan, 2000, p. 169).
MODERATE STATE (Vs. MARXIST/FASCIST ‘EXTREME STATE’)
In terms of statehood, a “moderate” State is a strongly-centered, rational, lawful, balanced and reasonable State comprised only of political parties on the politically moderate Center-Right, Centre, and Center-Left of the political spectrum, which have historically always utterly rejected the extreme, violently dangerous and historically greatly-killing-and-oppressing ideologies of both the Atheist Marxist/Communist “Far-Left/Extreme-Left”, based on the radical, skewed and hate-based Marxist writings of German revolutionary Karl Marx (e.g. the International Marxist-Socialism of Stalin’s Soviet Union/U.S.S.R [30-40 million killed], the Chinese Marxist-Socialism of Mao’s China [80 million killed] and the National Marxist-Socialism of Hitler’s Germany based on Marxist-inspired, racially-defined Aryan/Racial National Socialism (Naziism)[42 million killed]), and the Catholic Fascist and Islamist Fascist/Islamo-fascist “Far-Right/Extreme-Right” (e.g. Mussolini’s Italy and Taliban-Al-Qaeda Afghanistan).
THE “OPPOSITION” IN PARLIAMENT
Elected persons of political parties, not within the power-holding “Government” bloc but forming the “Opposition” bloc to the Government in parliament, whose job it is to hold the various political members of the current Government accountable for their decisions and actions, and to keep them honest in their governance and government dealings. The Opposition does this by: firstly, exposing any incidents of dishonesty, corruption, theft, illegal practices, or misuse of either State funds (e.g. public taxes), resources, institutions or forces by government ministers of all ranks from the highest to the lowest political servant of the people and the State; and secondly, (a) questioning policy in parliamentary debates, so that the Government can be made aware of any poor or harmful current policies, and also hear all sides of an argument on any issue under discussion, in order for the Government to fine-tune its own argument and grounds for the introduction, maintenance or improvement of policies in response, and (b) adding constructive criticism of Government policies in parliamentary debates and in the media by way of the free press, with the overall aim of helping, protecting and strengthening ‘the country’ – meaning the State and all the citizen peoples of the nation that the State exists to protect and serve. Legal, elected, parliamentary Opposition is a necessary and inherent part of the democratic political process, which will ultimately lead to better, more thought-out, more well-reasoned, more balanced, and more effective government policies for the care of the people of the nation, in the Government’s temporary and democratically-limited years of governance during its term/tenure, in protecting and providing for the people of the nation and serving their basic and most urgent needs and interests by means of the State’s Foundational Institutions and Government Ministries/Departments until the next democratic national election.
REALISM/REALISTS
Political ideas, theories and practices based upon a belief that ‘human beings are basically selfish’ and will usually only strive to meet their own personal needs and to advance their own personal interests, causes, goals and enrichment (“fallen sinful man”). For Realists, not all human beings are reasonable, and some are actually extremely evil at heart, as has been demonstrated by history, experience and contemporary reality in the record of human affairs on the earth. Realism is the opposite political perspective on International Relations than Idealism (see ‘IDEALISM’ description above). Realists believe that the Sovereign State is the principal actor or entity in International Relations, each of which is independent of other States, and must act to defend its own territory and to care for its own people within its delineated and guarded borders. For this reason, realists consider that power politics between States, and both the ‘national security’ and ‘national interests’ of each individual State, all play an extremely important role in world affairs. Unlike idealists, realists believe in examining the world based not on how international actors should behave ideally, but rather, how they are actually behaving in reality.
Consequently, current facts and realities are extremely important to realists, in how they view the world, assess global issues, and analyse the past, present or prospective future behaviour of States, peoples, groups or individuals. Past and current patterns of behaviour is considered to be a strong indicator of future patterns of behaviour in world affairs. History is prologue, therefore history is important. Realists believe that when a basic ‘Balance of Power’ exists and is maintained, even in spite of inter-State or intra-State conflict, then stability, order and peace will result in the overall system, meaning that much international cooperation between States and national development within States can take place to the benefit of numerous and diverse citizen peoples around the world. When States enter into practical bilateral or multilateral alliances with each other, in order to safeguard their own national security, values and interests, and if these various alliances are balanced overall against each other within the global system, then realists contend that a prolonged period of “peace” in the world can result (where peace = stability – not utopia, nirvana or heaven). By contrast, world wars along with the global human death, suffering and destruction of nations they bring can occur, if one or a small number of States selfishly and recklessly attempt by force to dramatically alter the existing Balance of Power in their own favour, in order to achieve their own interests and national ambitions of global dominance, as has occurred previously during WWI, WWII during the decades-long Cold War, and arguably, now in 2021-2022 with regard to NATO’s over-expansion into far-eastern Europe/Eurasia. Maintaining balance within the State, and maintaining the Balance of Power within the international political system as a whole, is key for realists.
Realists are usually to be found among the politicians, advocates and supporters of the Moderate Liberal Conservative “Centre-Right” or Strong/Radical Liberal Conservative “Hard-Right” ideologies in the political spectrum (refer to the definition of ‘Liberal Democracy’ provided above).
TERRORISM
The tactic used by ‘terror-ists’ of purposefully planning and conducting unlawful, criminal and cruelly-indiscriminate acts of armed violence, especially against the weakest members of society – targeting and killing non-combatant, unarmed and vulnerable civilian men, women and children (mass-murder) – in attacks that are coldly calculated and designed to cause local, regional and national panic and terror among the targeted civilian population, as a means of intimidating, manipulating and applying sudden, unearned and extreme pressure on States and their legitimate governments in the pursuit of the terrorist group’s own desired political and even theological/atheist aims.
TOTALITARIANISM
‘Totalitarianism is an all-encompassing system of political rule that is typically established by pervasive ideological manipulation and open terror and brutality. Totalitarianism differs from both autocracy and authoritarianism, in that it seeks ‘total power’ through the politicisation of every aspect of social and personal existence. Totalitarianism thus implies the outright abolition of civil society and the abolition of ‘the private’ [individual] (A. Heywood, Key Concepts in Politics, Basingstoke (United Kingdom), Palgrave Macmillan, 2000, p. 184).
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ABP
Afghan Border Police
AIA
Afghan Interim Authority (an interim Afghan government, created internationally at Bonn in Germany on 22 December 2001, after the successful, post-9/11 Operation Enduring Freedom campaign to remove the terrorist-supporting, Taliban terror State)
ANA
Afghan National Army
ANP
Afghan National Police
ANSF
Afghan National Security Force
ANZAC
Australia New Zealand Army Corps (an acronym originally stamped on mail sent to some 20,000 Australian and New Zealand soldiers fighting and dying together on the beaches and coves of Gallipoli during WWI, which afterwards became a term of endearment and close friendship, and of bilateral cooperation and collective action between the antipodean, trans-Tasman neighbours in the Pacific, in multiple spheres of political, military, economic, agricultural, trade and social relations) [For more information on the New Zealand-Australian ‘ANZAC’ relationship, refer to my MA thesis, which is available as a PDF on the ‘About’ page.]
AO
Area of Operations
AOR
Area of Responsibility
AP I
Additional Protocol I on International Armed Conflict (1977) to the Geneva Conventions (1949)
AP II
Additional Protocol II on Non-International Armed Conflict (1977) to the Geneva Conventions (1949)
APC
Armoured Personnel Carrier
AQ
The “Al-Qaeda” Terrorist Network
ATA
Afghan Transitional Authority (a transitional Afghan government elected on 13 June 2002 by an Emergency “Loya Jirga” or “Grand Assembly” of Afghan leaders and elders in Afghanistan, convened by exiled Afghan King Mohammed Zaher, in order to replace the Afghan Interim Authority, created internationally at Bonn on 22 December 2001, following the successful, post-9/11 Operation Enduring Freedom campaign to remove the terrorist-supporting, Taliban terror State)
AUSCANNZUKUS
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States Alliance (also known as the “Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) Naval Alliance” or the “Five Eyes” Alliance)
BASIC
British-American Security Information Council
BRIG
Brigadier
BSA
Bosnian Serb Army
C²
Command and Control
CAPT
Captain
CAR
Central African Republic
CAS
Close Air Support
CDF
Chief of Defence Force
CENTCOM
Central Command Headquarters (U.S.)
CFC-A
Combined Forces Command – Afghanistan (OEF HQ)
CHOD
Chiefs of Defence (NATO)
CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
CIL
Customary International Law
CIMIC
Civil-Military Cooperation
CIVPOL
Civilian Police (UNMIK Operation in Kosovo)
CMU
Combat Manoeuvre Unit
CN
Counter-Narcotics
CO
Commanding Officer
COIN
Counter-Insurgency
COL
Colonel
COMISAF
Commander of the ISAF
COM-KFOR
Commander of the KFOR
COMUSFOR-A
Commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan
CSTC-A
Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan
DDR
Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration
DIIS
Danish Institute for International Studies
DoD
United States Department of Defense
DPKO
Department for Peacekeeping Operations (UN)
DRC
Democratic Republic of the Congo
DutchBat
Dutch Battalion (I, II and III), light Quick Reaction Force (QRF) battalions drawn from the Netherland’s 11th Airmobile Brigade of the Royal Netherlands Army
EU
European Union
EUPOL
European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan
FATA
The “Federally-Assisted Tribal Areas” along Pakistan’s western border with Afghanistan
FBiH
Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
FOB
Forward Operating Base
FSB
Forward Support Base
FYR Macedonia
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
GC I, II, III, IV
Geneva Convention I, II, III and IV, together comprising the four principal ‘Geneva Conventions’ (1949)
GEN
General
GIRoA
Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
GoA
Government of Afghanistan
GWOT
Global War on Terrorism/Terrorists and its associated Global Campaign against Islamist Terrorism (GCIT) [refer to the key GWOT definition provided above.]
HQ
Headquarters
HRW
Human Rights Watch
HUMINT
Human Intelligence
IAC
International Armed Conflict (governed by Geneva Conventions I, II, III and IV of 1949, and Additional Protocol I of 1977, which concern inter-State conflicts between sovereign nations)
ICC
International Criminal Court (a so-called ‘independent’ court established in 1998 by the Rome Statute for the prosecution of individuals accused of committing genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or crimes of aggression, and funded by the UN and ratified members of the ICC)
ICJ
International Court of Justice (“World Court” established by the UN in 1945 for the settlement of inter-State legal disputes, e.g. sovereignty, boundary, maritime, trade or resource conflicts, and funded by the UN as its ‘principal judiciary organ’)
ICTFY
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
IED
Improvised Explosive Device (homemade bomb)
IFOR
Implementation Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina (NATO)
IHL
International Humanitarian Law
IJC
Intermediate Joint Command, Kabul (ISAF)
IL
International Law
ISAF
International Security Assistance Force
ISAF HQ
ISAF Multinational Command Headquarters (Kabul)
ISI
The covert Inter-Services Intelligence agency (Pakistan)
ISIS
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (an Islamist terrorist group affiliated with Al Qaeda, which is also regularly referred to as ‘IS’, ‘ISIL’ and ‘Daesh’)
JANIB
Joint Afghan-NATO Inteqal Board (ISAF Phase IV – Transition)
JFC
Joint Forces Command, Brunssum, the Netherlands (NATO)
JNA
Yugoslav People’s Army (Former Yugoslavia)
JSOC
U.S. Joint Special Operations Command (commanding American SOF missions)
KFOR
Kosovo Force (NATO-led and operated)
KLA
Kosovo Liberation Army
KPC
Kosovo Protection Corps
KPS
Kosovo Police Service
LOAC
Law of Armed Conflict
LOO
Line of Operation
LT
Lieutenant
LTCOL
Lieutenant Colonel
LTGEN
Lieutenant General
MAJ
Major
MAJGEN
Major General
MAP
Membership Action Plan (NATO)
MEDEVAC
Medical Evacuation
MINUSCA
United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic
MINUSMA
United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali
MLOT
Mobile Liaison Observation Team
MNB
Multinational Brigade (Within the KFOR Operation in Kosovo)
MNF
Multinational Force
MNFC
Multinational Force Commander
MNO
Multinational Operation
MNSU
Multinational Specialized Unit (NATO KFOR)
MONUSCO
United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
MOU
Memorandum of Understanding
MP
Military Police
MPLA
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (Angolan Civil War)
MTA
Military Technical Agreement
NAC
NATO North Atlantic Council
NAMSA
NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NEDP
NATO Equipment Donation Programme
NGO
Non-Government Organisation
NIAC
Non-International Armed Conflict (governed by Common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II of 1977, which both concern intra-State conflicts within sovereign nations)
NIOD
Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie (Netherlands Institute for War Documentation)
NTM-A
NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan
NZDF
New Zealand Defence Force
OAP
Operation Allied Provider, NATO’s first, NATO-flagged, naval, anti-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden and around the Horn of Africa from October 2008 to ward off Somalian piracy of international shipping (succeeded by Operation Allied Protector and then Operation Ocean Shield)
OEF (or OEF-A)
Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan)
OFOF
Orders for Opening Fire
OFS
Operation Freedom Sentinel (the successive U.S.-led multinational operation which replaced the U.S.-led OEF mission in Afghanistan on 1 January 2015)
OMLT
Operational Training and Mentor Teams
OP
Observation Post
OPLAN
Operational Plan (NATO)
OPORD
Operations Order
ORS
Operation Resolute Support, also known as Resolute Support Mission (RSM), the successive NATO-led operation that replaced the NATO-led ISAF mission in Afghanistan on 1 January 2015
OSCE
Organisation for Security & Cooperation in Europe
OUP
Operation Unified Protector (NATO air and naval campaign against the al-Gaddafi dictatorship in Libya, March-October 2011)
PfP
Partnership for Peace (NATO Programme)
PIPE
Provocation, Intimidation, Protraction & Exhaustion (the 4 desired psychological effects insurgent rebels hope to inflict on counter-insurgent governments and their military forces)
PM
Prime Minister
POHRF
Post-Operations Humanitarian Relief
POMLT
Police Operational Training and Mentor Teams
POW
Prisoner of War
PRT
Provisional Reconstruction Team
PSO
Peace Support Operation
PTSD
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
QRF
Quick Reaction Force (a rapid-response unit located in each ISAF sector)
R&D
Reconstruction & Development (ISAF’s third LOO post-2006)
RC-Capital
Regional Command Capital (Kabul Province)
RC-East
Regional Command East
RC-North
Regional Command North
RC-South
Regional Command South
RC-West
Regional Command West
RCH
Red-Card Holder (officer charged with ‘saying no’ by showing the prohibition caveat ‘red-card’ to a superior commander, or Operational Commander, to deny participation of national forces in a planned operation)
R&D
Reconstruction & Development Programmes (ISAF)
RDZ
Regional Development Zone
RMA
Revolution in Military Affairs
ROE
Rules of Engagement
ROF
Rules for Opening Fire
RPF
Rwandan Patriotic Front (Rwandan Civil War)
RPG
Rocket-Propelled Grenade
RSM
Resolute Support Mission, also known as Operation Resolute Support (ORS), NATO’s subsequent mission in Afghanistan following the ISAF, from 1 January 2015 – present
RUSI
Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)
SACEUR
Supreme Allied Commander – Europe (NATO)
SALW
Small Arms and Light Weapons
SAS
Special Air Service (New Zealand Special Forces)
S-C-H-B
‘SHAPE, CLEAR, HOLD, BUILD’, a motto used by the NATO-led ISAF campaign in Afghanistan to encapsulate the 4 sequential phases of its COIN strategy in all Afghan districts, provinces and Regional Command sectors from 2006-2014
SFOR
Stabilization Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina (NATO)
SHAPE
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Mons, Belgium (NATO)
SOFs
Special Operations Forces
SOFA
Status of Forces Agreement
TCN
Troop Contributing Nation (to a Multinational Operation)
TF
Task Force
UAE
United Arab Emirates
UAV
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
U.K.
United Kingdom
UN
United Nations
UNAMA
United Nations Assistance Mission Afghanistan
UNAMIR
United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda
UNAVEM
United Nations Angola Verification Mission
UNITA
National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Angolan Civil War)
UNMIK
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
UNMISS
United Nations Mission in South Sudan
UNPA
United Nations Protected Area (UN ‘Safe Areas’ in Croatia & Bosnia-Herzegovina)
UNPROFOR
United Nations Protection Force (Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina)
UNSC
United Nations Security Council
UNTAET
United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor
UNTSO
United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon & Syria from 1948 – present)
U.S.
United States
USFOR-A
United States Forces-Afghanistan
VBIED
Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (homemade bomb)
VRS
Vojske Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serb Army)