THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 6, 1996 TAG: 9609060497
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 66 lines
The Dayton peace accords will not be fully implemented in time to meet a Dec. 20 deadline, forcing U.S. troops to remain in Bosnia, the former commander of allied forces in that country predicted Thursday.
Adm. Leighton W. Smith Jr., who until last month headed NATO's forces in southern Europe, told a crowd of 500 military and civilians at a U.S. Naval Institute seminar that he believes U.S. and allied troops will have to remain, but only ``for a finite time.''
When roughly 20,000 U.S. troops were sent there as peacekeepers last December, President Clinton said they would be withdrawn within a year. Smith said Thursday that ``there will be an additional requirement for forces'' after that, but that committing them ``is a political decision, not a military decision.''
The Dayton accords were agreed to in November at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. There, under U.S. prodding, Balkan leaders agreed to end 3 1/2 years of savage fighting and carve Bosnia into two ethnic zones.
The agreement provides for creation of two entities, a Muslim-Croat federation controlling 51 percent of the territory, and a Serb republic holding the rest. It calls for a central government with a democratically elected president and parliament, and bars indicted war criminals from holding military or elected office.
Smith noted that municipal elections have been put off indefinitely, leading to his conclusion that the Dec. 20 deadline can't be met. National elections remain scheduled for Sept. 14.
If U.S. and allied troops remain, they should be given a ``very narrow'' mission so troops can focus clearly on their jobs and not be saddled with police duties or additional missions they have no reason to be performing, he said.
``It should be a simple objective: to prevent the outbreak of hostilities.''
The force also should be reduced in size, he said, declining to give a number.
``To keep those forces there for a finite period of time is probably a good idea in order to give these people a good opportunity to achieve the peace they so richly deserve and want,'' he said.
``The people of Bosnia, the ones most affected by the war, are tired of fighting and killing. They want it stopped; they want to rebuild their homes. Hopefully, they want to go back to their homes.''
Smith, reviewing the Bosnian war since he took command of the region in April 1994, said the military part was ``a complete success.''
Weapons have been seized and consolidated. The armies are drawing down. The killing has stopped. Soldiers are going to their barracks, he said.
``But the political side needs to work better. . . . It is not fixed.''
The factions are still ``led by people with diametrically opposed objectives. They will not get consensus,'' he said. ``They see things through different eyes.''
Smith, calling Bosnia ``one of the most complex areas of the world,'' said he labored while in the region to convince the Bosnians it was up to them to find peace.
``I told those folks, `It is your responsibility to bring peace to this country, not mine. We can only give you the chance. It is up to you to decide if you want peace.' '' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Adm. Leighton W. Smith Jr. says troops will remain in place for a
``finite'' period.
KEYWORDS: BOSNIA BALKANS U.S. MILITARY by CNB