Software Vault: The Gold Collection/Software Vault - The Gold Collection (American Databankers) (1993).ISO/cdr11/wh930501.zip/5-1D.TXT

Internet Message Format | 1993-06-12 | 14KB

From @lex-luthor.ai.mit.edu:[e-mail] Sat May  1 19:08:20 1993
Date: Sat, 1 May 1993 15:38-0400
From: The White House <[e-mail]>
Subject: Press Briefing by the Secretary of State W. Christopher
To: [e-mail],

                           THE WHITE HOUSE

                    Office of the Press Secretary

_____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                     May 1, 1993

                            PRESS BRIEFING
                                  BY
                SECRETARY OF STATE WARREN CHRISTOPHER


                          The Briefing Room

1:35 P.M. EDT

         SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER:  Good afternoon.  Upon taking
office, President Clinton inherited a complex and tragic situation in
the former Yugoslavia.  This situation has bedeviled the
international community now for almost two years.  It's a problem
with deep historic roots.  In the post-Cold War period, the former
Yugoslavia has been the scene of violence, tragedy and outrageous
conduct.

         The Presided has acted to deal with this conflict.  We
have undertaken in cooperation with our allies and friends an
intensive diplomatic effort in an attempt to solve the crisis and
bring some measure of peace to this area.

         Our activity to date has been intense along a number of
fronts.  These include an active diplomatic effort that has helped to
bring two of the three Bosnian parties into agreement on a peace
plan; second, an effort to save thousands of lives by way of
humanitarian programs, which include our airdrop program, which has
now furnished more than 2 million meals; third, passage of a U.N.
resolution to establish a war crimes tribunal; fourth, a U.N.
resolution to enforce a no-fly zone to prevent the use of air power
by the parties to the conflict; and fifth, an extremely rigorous
sanctions resolution at the United Nations that went into effect last
Monday at midnight.

         Under this sanctions regime, Serbia is being treated as
a pariah state, virtually isolated from the rest of the world.  Yet
the outrages have continued in the former Yugoslavia area.  In the
face of Serbian aggression the President has been rigorously
reviewing further options for action during the course of the last
week.  He has been consulting with our allies and friends in the
international community, members of Congress, his national security
team, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  He has been exploring
additional actions the international community can take to respond to
the violence, stop the aggression and contain the conflict.

         The President has just completed a meeting with his
principal national security advisers.  At this meeting the President
decided on the direction that he believes the United States and the
international community should now take in this situation.  This
direction involves a number of specific recommendations, including
military steps.

         The President is sending me to Europe to consult with
our allies and friends on a course of action.  This problem is at the
heart of Europe's future.  Our efforts will be undertaken with our
partners.  We're ready to play our part, but others must be as well.

         Along these lines, I'll be leaving at 9:00 p.m. tonight
to engage in these consultations.  Over the next week I'll travel to
Britain, France, Russia and Germany.  I'll also be traveling to
Brussels, where I'll consult with the Secretary General of NATO and
the Presidency of the European Community.

         In these sessions I'll be conveying the President's
determination that the international community should take further
action.  I'll be consulting with our partners on the direction the
President believes the international community should take together.
We must have a unified and cohesive position.

         With respect to the specific directions that I'll be
discussing in Europe, I think you'll understand that prior to the
consultations with our allies, I cannot discuss them with you here in
this public forum.

         Let me close with two important points.  First, the
President and the United States are pursuing additional action with
our allies because we believe that the interests of the United States
and the international community are at stake.  There are, of course,
issues of conscience and humanitarian concerns at stake in this
situation.  But fundamentally our actions are also based upon the
strategic interests of the United States.  All of us seek to limit
the risk of a widening instability that could lead to a greater
Balkan war.

         Second, as you know, the parties to the conflict are
meeting in Athens this weekend with Secretary Vance and Lord Owen.
The Serbs know that they exhausted the patience of the international
community.  It is in their interest to take concrete actions now to
reach peace and to do so without further delay.

         But I must underscore that they must do more than just
speak out, they must do more than simply give us a signature on a
peace plan.  Unfortunately, we've heard their words and seen the
signatures before.  It will take deeds, immediate concrete action by
the Serbs, actions on the ground to convince the international
community of their seriousness and good faith.

         I'll be glad to try to respond --

         Q      Mr. Secretary, can you tell us -- obviously, you've
had preliminary consultations with allies; realistically do you think
you'll be able to find a consensus based on what the President has
decided today?

         SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER:  Yes, I'm quite hopeful that we
can find a consensus.  It seems to me that our European allies and
friends are looking forward to these meetings.  I think they expect
the United States to offer leadership in this situation.  I have no
reason to think that my consultations there won't be well received.
And I have some confidence that we can reach a situation of unity and
cohesion.

         Q      You said you couldn't give us details of what was
decided today, but can you tell us whether anything was ruled out
specifically involving the embargo?

         SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER:  What has been ruled out by the
President before, as you know, is for the United States to involve
large numbers of ground troops, except as ground troops might be
involved in the implementation of a peace plan.  That doesn't break
any new ground.  What I have said here is simply the one thing that
we will not be discussing, but beyond that we will be discussing a
very wide range of options in the context, of course, of the
directions that the President has given me today.

         Q      Mr. Secretary, do we understand you correctly that
the President has taken the decision today that will involve military
-- potential military action by American forces, but the Europeans
will be informed of this decision before the American people?

         SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER:  The President has not taken any
final decisions.  He has marked out some directions that he wants to
have consultations undertaken with our European allies and our
friends.  After those meetings, I'll be returning here to the United
States and at that time be reporting to the President and he will
make final decisions based upon these consultations.

         Q      So the Europeans will be consulted before the
American people?

         SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER:  The American people are being
consulted as we move along in the situation.  It's being widely
discussed all over the Untied States, but you can understand that
until we've reached a unified and cohesive position with our European
allies that there is nothing that we can properly announce at the
present time.

         Q      Have you changed the goal line here for the Serbs
-- the goalpost, because it seems that you're saying that you need
more than the signature on a peace plan, that you need concrete
actions on the ground?  What specifically are those actions that you
want?

         SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER:  The Serbs know well the actions
that they must take to satisfy us in this situation and satisfy the
international community.  They must honor the cease-fire that was
called for in the London accords.  They must stop bombing the cities
in Bosnia.  They must permit humanitarian aid to go forward.  There's
no mystery and no secret about that.  The Serbs know what they must
do.  What we're tired of is simply their words and actions and
manipulation.

         Q      Mr. Secretary, do the allies have veto power over
the President's plans?  What if they say no?  Will the President
change his plans?  And, number two, if they do go along with it, when
would the action actually begin?

         SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER:  By no means do the allies have
veto power, but this is a multilateral situation.  This problem has
deep European roots.  The European countries are already deeply
involved.  They have ground forces in Bosnia.  It's a situation where
we want to take unified action with Europe, and we'll be discussing
it in that context.

         The second part of your question had to do with timing,
did it?

         Q      Yes, sir.

         SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER:  I don't want to establish any
deadline, but we understand the violence is going ahead in Bosnia.
We want to move as briskly as we can.  On the other hand, I think
it's essential we move with deliberation here.  These are very
important decisions.  And, as you all know, they are very difficult
decisions.

         Q      Mr. Secretary, did you open up a new possibility of
using U.S. troops on the ground to pinpoint the Serbian positions,
because you used the phrase "ruling out large numbers of ground
troops."  What about small numbers?

         SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER:  I don't want to change what the
President has said on that subject.  We do not contemplate the use of
ground forces except in connection with the implementation of a peace
plan that was agreed to in good faith -- a viable peace plan agreed
to in good faith.

         Q      What forces would be used to pinpoint the Serbian
positions?

         SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER:  I'm not going to get into
detailed military options.  I simply stand on my prior statement with
respect to ground forces.

         Q      Mr. Secretary, Lord Owen has said it would be
unwise to use military force against the Serbs at this juncture, and
he said that they are now closer to a peace agreement than they have
been in the last eight months.  Do you share that assessment?

         SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER:  We're proceeding on our own
track here.  I think that the President has been very deliberate over
the last 10 days in moving toward a decision, which he's taken today,
to send me to Europe and on the directions he wants to have the
discussions take in  Europe.  We're not going to be diverted from
that track.  Obviously, we're interested in what's going on in
Athens, but I think the United States and its allies need to concert
their position in this important situation.

         And let me say this also:  I have noticed over the last
several months that I have been in office that the Serbs tend to
respond when they think that something might be done by the United
States and their allies of a serious character.  I'm not -- I don't
think it's an entirely -- a coincidence that they're back at the
bargaining table now as we approach these decisions.  So we're going
to stay on track.  We're going to continue our course.

         Q      Mr. Secretary, do you see your role in Europe as
selling this strategy to the European allies, or soliciting their
input to amend this strategy?

         SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER:  I certainly am going to try to
persuade the allies that the directions the President has laid down
are ones that they ought to embrace.  That's part of my task as being
Secretary of State and engaging in these consultations.

         Q      Mr. Secretary, you have on several occasions
pointed out this is a deep and historical conflict that's going on.
And today you point out that it's also in the strategic interest of
the United States to get involved here.  Most people don't understand
why we are getting involved.  Can you explain more what you mean by
strategic interest?

         SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER:  Well, it has two main
dimensions.  Of course, it has the deep humanitarian dimension.  The
ethnic cleansing that has gone on there has evoked concern all over
the world.  But coming to your specific question, there is an
important strategic interest here of trying to contain this conflict.
The United States does not want this conflict to spread in a way that
would involve our allies, Greece and Turkey.  It does not want it to
spread to Kosovo or Macedonia.  So it's an effort to contain the
conflict, to keep it where it is, to stop the aggression that is such
of strategic interest not only of the United States but our allies as
well.

         Q      Mr. Secretary, does the decision that the President
has reached today represent an ultimatum to the Serbs?  And if so,
when does it expire?  By when must we see these deeds?

         SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER:  I think the Serbs know what they
have to do.  And they know that they need to do it promptly, because
our course of decision is well set here.  We're going to be careful
and deliberate.  We're going to go through these consultations.  I'll
come back and report to the President, and he'll be reporting to the
American people on this subject; but the clock is ticking.

         Thank you very much.

                                 END1:47 P.M. EDT