The best way we can to do that is to have your presence and your continued dedication to service, sacrifice and patriotism. Cohen said the Sinai Peninsula has been the site of four wars in the last 25 years. The multinational peacekeeping force was first stationed in the Sinai after Israel withdrew its forces in 1982 under the 1979 Treaty of Peace between Egypt and Israel. Today, infantry battalions from Colombia, Fiji and the United States serve along with an Italian coastal patrol unit, French aviators, Hungarian military police and smaller contingents from Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Norway and Uruguay. Cohen said despite the region's troubled history and harsh terrain, economic prosperity and development is evident.
Investment breeds prosperity and a greater sense of security.
Cohen hailed the service members who he said serve as diplomats as well as warriors. When you are deployed here and all over the world, you are helping to shape people's opinions about the United States. That's a mission you should take great pride in. It can be lonely for all of you. The weather can be hot.