Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 24, 1995 TAG: 9507240140
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The White House said Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic was visited in Belgrade by representatives of the United States, Britain and France who warned that ``if necessary, these actions will be at unprecedented levels.''
The ultimatum was designed to give the Bosnian Serbs formal notice of an allied plan, approved Friday in London, to take tougher action against Serb aggression, specifically in Gorazde.
In Bosnia on Sunday, more than 800 British and French troops, equipped with heavy artillery batteries, moved toward Sarajevo to secure a supply route into the city and respond to Bosnian Serb gunners who are shelling and blasting the besieged capital with deadly intensity.
The decision to order troops from the newly formed 12,000-man Rapid Reaction Force to mount an aggressive campaign against Bosnian Serb gunners is one of the riskiest yet taken by the United Nations.
Senior Western military officials say it will draw U.N. troops into frequent artillery battles with the Bosnian Serbs, destroy the notion that the peacekeeping force is neutral and lead Bosnian Serb gunners to set their sights on U.N. troops, both as targets and hostages.
The deployment around Sarajevo came two days after the leaders of Western countries threatened retaliation against Serbs if they attacked the U.N.-designated ``safe area'' of Gorazde.
And it comes
The French, who have lost 42 soldiers since the war began in April 1992, fired more than 60 mortar rounds at Serb positions overnight.
The French and British contingents, including at least 320 British soldiers and 500 members of the French Foreign Legion, were moving toward Mount Igman, west of the city, Sunday night, U.N. officials said, but were held up temporarily by local Bosnian army commanders.
In Washington, Defense Secretary William Perry told reporters attending a reception at his home: ``The airplanes are ready to go on a moment's notice for certain missions. These are strong statements of national resolve.''
Perry said the delegation explained to the Serb commander how the London statement ``applies to all the safe areas in Bosnia,'' but declined to elaborate on exactly what that explanation was.
Perry said final mission plans would be refined by NATO military leaders today.
``If military action is undertaken against Gorazde, substantial air actions will be mounted,'' White House press secretary Mike McCurry said in a statement. ``NATO and [the U.N. peacekeeping force] are taking the necessary steps to that end.''
The ultimatum included a warning that action against the four other remaining safe areas in Bosnia ``cannot be tolerated,'' McCurry said. However, an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity said there would be no immediate move to apply the new NATO plan for Gorazde to the other safe areas.
White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta earlier in the day warned that the Western allies were ready to use air power to protect the other safe areas, some of which came under Serb attack over the weekend.
The unidentified administration official said such action could be done under previous NATO ground rules for Bosnia. But in the past, the limited airstrikes carried out by NATO have been constrained by the United Nations and have proven ineffectual at countering Serb aggression.
Sunday's ultimatum was designed to ensure that the Serbs are ``fully aware of the consequences of their present behavior,'' McCurry said.
``The Bosnian Serbs were told that the deaths of two further French soldiers underlined the seriousness of this warning,'' McCurry said. ``They must realize that necessary action will be taken in response to attacks elsewhere, including in other safe areas.''
Panetta, interviewed on CBS' ``Face the Nation,'' said the air strikes would be aimed at military forces and military command and control centers. ``We are clearly sending a signal here that we will not tolerate further attacks on the safe areas,'' he said.
Clinton, appearing on C-SPAN, repeated that while the United States will not send ground troops to Bosnia as combatants.
``I do believe we should use American air power if the Serbian aggression continues to erode the commitments that they have all made, for example, to respect the integrity of Gorazde,'' he said.
Clinton spoke with British Prime Minister John Major for about 10 minutes Sunday evening to review the allied plan, the White House said.
NATO allies agreed to use aggressive air power to protect the safe areas after Bosnian Serbs overran the safe area of Srebrenica on July 11 and advanced on the nearby city of Zepa.
The focus has since turned to Gorazde, south of Sarajevo and the next probable target of the Serbs.
The New York Times contributed information to this story.
by CNB