Today, in honor of the fourth International Day of UN Peacekeepers, Refugees International is calling on US Congress to make good its funding commitments to UN peacekeeping activities.  The US does not contribute troop units to UN peacekeeping missions, currently owes $500 million in arrears to the UN peacekeeping budget, and stands to accrue $500 million more in the next year.  This, despite the fact that the US has voted to approve or expand most of the existing UN peacekeeping operations and the White House Office of Management and Budget has given US peacekeeping contributions a high effectiveness rating in terms of cost-efficient use of funds and achievement of U.S. goals.  And while I do have my questions and concerns about the UN and its peacekeeping operations, I also believe that in most cases, it's the body best positioned to address complex conflict situations, from conflict resolution to rebuilding.  So I signed the Better World Campaign's Price of Peace petition to Congress.  Check out this fact sheet, and the rest of the site, and if you agree that UN peacekeeping is important to security and stability in the world, sign the petition.