THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, December 31, 1995              TAG: 9512290003
SECTION: COMMENTARY               PAGE: J4   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   37 lines

WHAT ARE WE DOING IN BOSNIA?

In high school I had an excellent history teacher, Mr. Spear. He made the whole idea of history interesting and had a way of presenting it that almost brought it to life. Since then, while no academic, I have had a strong interest in history, and the geopolitical facets of it that make it so interesting.

I look at what we are going to do in Bosnia and think about the lessons that Mr. Spear taught about Europe. He had an interesting perspective that convinced me that he had greater insight than the average high-school teacher. He concluded that nearly 400 years ago, our ancestors decided that they could no longer tolerate the European style of government and rule; consequently, they started to leave to build this country. We wanted away from that system so badly that we were willing to fight the ``superpower'' of the day, England, twice to maintain our independence.

In the early 20th century, we sent our boys ``over there'' to help rectify another situation, brought on by the same system we had struggled so hard to separate ourselves from. Thirty years later, we were back, trying again to help correct for a system gone awry. Now, 50 years later, and for the third time this century, we are entering Europe with weapons to help establish and maintain peace.

I have to ask a single question: If in 400 years nothing has really changed in Europe, what can we do in 365 days?

MARK A. BAZEMORE

Virginia Beach, Dec. 24, 1995 by CNB