UNTAES is only the third UN peacekeeping mission in history (after UNTEA in Western New Guinea and UNTAC in Cambodia) where the UN assumed direct and high executive powers in the territory of concern.

After Operation Storm in mid-1995, the only remaining part of the self-proclaimed proto-state Republic of Serbian Krajina was the area in eastern Croatia along the Danube river.

[4] This led the international community to believe that Croatian intervention in Eastern Slavonia case would trigger a military reaction from Yugoslavia and result in an escalation of hostilities.

[5] At the same time, the military defeat of Krajina and signing of the Washington Agreement opened the space to resolve the armed conflict in Bosnia which the US Administration wanted to use for political benefits before the 1996 United States presidential election.

[7] The Erdut Agreement between the Croatian Government and the representatives of the Serbs in the region was signed in November 1995, which requested that the UN form a transitional authority and a peacekeeping force.

[8] Strobe Talbott was one of the policy makers who raised the issue of regulation of position of Serbs in Croatia, the most important issue in Croatia–United States relations at the time, while US Ambassador Peter Galbraith organized three meetings with the population of the region in the towns of Vukovar, Beli Manastir and Ilok where he informed local Serbs that they will, regardless of fact that their leaders did not inform them of it, indeed become part of Croatia based on the Erdut Agreement.

[8] Madeleine Albright visited Vukovar in early 1996 to express her support to the process of reintegration where she was attacked with eggs and stones at local market.

[2] Croatian Government offered Osijek for that purpose but mission refused it since it wanted to locate it on the territory of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia.

[2] On 13th of April 1997 UNTAES facilitated the conduct of Croatian Chamber of Counties election in region and on that occasion special US mission under Nancy Ely-Raphael leadership visited Vukovar.

[8] US special mission visited Sarvaš, Erdut, Dalj, Vukovar, Borovo, Lovas, Opatovac, Ilok, Šarengrad, Bilje, Čeminac, Beli Manastir and Kneževi Vinogradi.