Word: nato
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...West's resolve finally materialized, as President Clinton finally decided to put himself on the line for Bosnia. Yesterday's peace agreement marks the fruition of three months of diplomacy. It is the product of the a coincidence of factors--NATO's airstrikes, Croatia's successful offensive--that convinced the Serbs that the time had come to sue for peace. But above all credit is due to the exhausting work and sacrifice of American diplomats, led by Assistant Secretary of State Richard C. Holbrooke...
...reached by the middle of this week. But by then a Balkans battle inside the Beltway may erupt. House Republicans expect to force a vote this week on a measure that would bar any spending for the 20,000 American troops that would be the linchpin of the NATO implementation force. (That force would now include Russian soldiers, since Moscow agreed last week to put them essentially under NATO control.) "We're afraid Clinton will cut some kind of deal and our troops in Germany could be down there [in Bosnia] a few hours after an agreement is signed," says...
...such a peace, then we might agree to send a similarly token NATO observer force, easily deployed and easily withdrawn. If the Bosnians want a few Americans with a flag and fatigues to lend symbolic legitimacy to the agreement, as in Sinai today--fine again. But no "implementation force," heavily armed and ready for combat. That is an invitation to disaster...
...NATO's original goal of defending Western Europe from Soviet aggression needs to be redefined in order to confront the demands that face Europe. The post-cold war world requires that nato accept responsibilities outside the scope of its origins. This new role must include providing for its own regional security and accepting U.S. leadership, without the condition of committing resources only if the U.S. intervenes. U.S. leadership must be more decisive and work to instill foreign policy confidence if NATO is to be an effective alliance and successful in Bosnia. JOHN F. STAMPFLI Mission Viejo, California...
...Secretary of Defense William Perry and Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev agreed on a unique command structure that would allow Russian troops to serve as part of a prospective peacekeeping force for Bosnia. The trick? Instead of placing the 1,000 infantry troops under NATO command, an option unacceptable to Russia after more than four decades of cold war opposition to the alliance, the Russian soldiers would be under American command. However, American orders would be subject to approval by Russian subordinates. A nato diplomat described the unusual arrangement as "a fig leaf...