Word: nato
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...does the U.S. want that role, and if it does not, what are the consequences? A test case of supreme significance is at hand. If domestic opposition somehow prevents Clinton from sending the troops to Bosnia that he has promised, U.S. leadership in Europe will collapse, along with NATO itself, in all likelihood. That would gut an alliance that has lasted sturdily for almost half a century. Ideally, the U.S. would exert a stable, reliable force throughout the world that is something like gravity. If NATO breaks up over Bosnia, and the U.S. keeps retreating from leadership, international relations could...
...NATO contingents are sent into action, says task force commander Colonel James McDonough, "we're going in first. Just give us the word." The troops are ready to fight, but they have also been mastering crowd control, learning the skills of dealing with civilian authorities, soothing ruffled residents. "My guys want to do what we train for," says Sergeant-Major Gerald Parks, his face painted green and black. "If people are dying in Bosnia and we can help...
Whether they go depends on the peace talks in Dayton, but if those negotiations succeed, the U.S. Army could move fast. NATO plans, still secret, call for immediate American help in setting up a communications and logistics headquarters in Bosnia. Close on their heels, the Implementation Force, or I-FOR, of 60,000 troops--20,000 American--would stream into Bosnia. The provisions of the peace agreement now being discussed would give NATO's military peace force a license to throw its weight around throughout Bosnia. They could also involve the I-FOR in a fire fight the first time...
Senior officials in Washington have been trying to persuade the country of the need to send troops to Bosnia, but they have not been doing a particularly good job of it. Clinton wrote to Congress last week, "If we do not do our part in a NATO mission, we would weaken the alliance and jeopardize American leadership in Europe." Secretary of State Warren Christopher warns that the Bosnian conflict might spread, but it remains unclear what danger the Albanian army poses. Meanwhile, William Perry, the Secretary of Defense, testified to Congress last month that the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia "affects...
...Philadelphia he labeled Bosnia a place "where our vital interests are not threatened, but we do have an important stake in the outcome." Asked to explain this contradiction last week, Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said Bosnia was important, though not vital, but the maintenance of U.S. leadership in NATO was at stake in the peacekeeping mission. "We're protecting NATO," Bacon said. "That's vital...