Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 11, 1993 TAG: 9302110267
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
TROOP USE IN BOSNIA OFFERED
The Clinton administration said Wednesday that U.S. troops could be sent to enforce peace in the former Yugoslavia if warring factions can negotiate a settlement."Our conscience revolts" at unending accounts of murder and rape, Secretary of State Warren Christopher said.
Unveiling a six-point peace plan after three weeks of study by the new administration, Christopher said, "No great power can dismiss the likely consequences of letting a Balkans conflict rage."
The deepening war, its threat to neighboring nations and the long-seated religious and cultural hatred in the area pose a critical test for the new president.
"We inherit at this early point in our administration a tragic and dangerous situation," Christopher said. He denounced Serbian "ethnic cleansing" aimed at Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina and called the crisis "an important moment for our post-Cold-War role in Europe and the world."
President Clinton said earlier in the day that the American public will support the plan. "I think they want us to do more, but they want us to do it in a prudent way."
In a televised town hall meeting Wednesday night in Michigan, Clinton said U.S. action was necessary to end the factional violence in the Balkans and prevent the conflict from spreading.
"If we don't get involved, the terrible principle of ethnic cleansing will be validated," Clinton said. "There is a chance it can spread. . . . I think it is reality that if we don't get involved either nothing will change or the Bosnians will be wrecked and the Croatians will be hurt badly."
Christopher announced the possibility of using American troops as part of an international force to enforce peace terms.
At this stage, he said, "it is premature to try to analyze exactly what kind of military power is necessary."
Other senior U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was no decision on whether ground troops would act as peacekeepers.
Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said Christopher told him that as many as 5,000 to 10,000 American troops could join a 40,000-member NATO force that might go to Bosnia under U.N. auspices if a peace accord is concluded.
Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole of Kansas called Clinton's plan "a disappointment because it is far less than the tough action he promised during the campaign. His plan won't be near enough to stop the bloodshed and ethnic cleansing, so I doubt the Serbs will back off."
\ BOSNIA POLICY\ HIGHLIGHTS\ \ Reginald Bartholomew was named U.S. envoy to the cease-fire negotiations led by former U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance and European Community representative Lord David Owen.\ \ The United States will try to convince Bosnians, Serbs and Croatians that the only way to end the conflict is through negotiation, with no solution to be imposed on the parties.\ \ Economic sanctions against Serbia will be tightened, with political and economic pressure against extending the conflict into Kosovo and a strengthened international presence in Macedonia.\ \ All parties are called upon to stop the violence. A no-fly zone over Bosnia is to be enforced, and further actions taken to allow delivery of aid. A U.N. war crimes tribunal is to be created.\ \ The United States is willing to help implement and enforce any settlement reached by the parties to the conflict, including joining with the United Nations, NATO and others, and possible U.S. military action.\ \ The United States will consult with its allies, particularly Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Bartholomew is to visit Moscow to discuss the U.S. plan before going to New York to participate in negotiations.