Which U.S. military intervention was aimed at protecting civilians in Kosovo in the late 1990s?

Operation Allied Force was the U.S. military intervention that specifically aimed at protecting civilians in Kosovo during the late 1990s. This operation, conducted in 1999, was primarily a NATO-led campaign designed to address the humanitarian crisis stemming from the ethnic conflict in Kosovo, where Serbian forces were targeting ethnic Albanians, leading to widespread violence and displacement.

The operation involved extensive airstrikes against Serbian military targets and was framed within the humanitarian purpose of preventing further atrocities. This military action was significant not only in its immediate goals of stabilization and protection of civilians but also in its role in shaping international policy regarding humanitarian interventions.

Other operations listed, such as Operation Restore Hope, Operation Desert Shield, and Operation Southern Watch, were focused on different geopolitical crises and did not directly pertain to the situation in Kosovo or the specific aim of civilian protection in that context.