Sending US troops to Bosnia is in my opinion a very questionable activity. While I
do see the presidents point, I do not see the need for ground forces. I think that several
other options should be explored. Ground troops are not necessary to establish a presents
in the region. I feel that airpower is sufficient, after all it was air strikes that brought the
Serbs to the to the negotiation table in the first place. It is apparent that the only thing the
Serbs understand or respect is force. I'm sure that Mr. Clinton is aware of this, however I
believe that the President may have a separate agenda. With the elections less than a year
away , I feel that Mr. Clinton may be using the Bosnia situation as a ploy to boost his
polls.
After all he wouldn't be the president to do so. The only danger is this political
tactic will unnecessarily cost American lives. America has no strategic interest in the
region, their is no advantage to assisting in this problem weather economical or militarily.
The Bosnia issue is strictly a European problem. Let the Europeans handle things for a
change. They have the means and capabilities to take care of the fighting factions. Instead
they will sit back send the minimum amount of resources and watch the Americans carry
the load.
Another problem I have with the deployment of ground forces is that they will be
under U.N. control. This in my opinion is a big mistake. U.S troops under U.N. control
lost their lives in Mogadishu, Somalia. Because of the bureaucratic red tape American
leadership had to go through to obtain heavy fire support during a Battle over a downed
U.S. aircraft. After the incident the politicians lost public support of the mission.
American soldiers were pulled out and the whole objective was forgotten. Most third world countries know that if you want to bring America to it's knees they have to sway public opinion. sending dead Americans home will defiantly change the publics view. As Americans we generally don't have a stomach for war and at some point we decide is it worth it and this is our only vonarable point. A point which our adversaries exploit.
While I do believe initially that U.S. troops in Bosnia will not come under fire. It is not because the Serbs are afraid. They simply are no********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************will have on the American public.
Another facet of the deployment is that it did not receive support in congress. Many influential senators and congressmen ( of both parties) are opposed to the Bosnia mission. I find this fact very disturbing. Senator Sam Nunn (Senate armband services committee chairman) has expressed serious reservations regarding foreign disposition of force in Europe in a recent New York Times article.
One must also consider the effects that unclear guidance has on the military leader charged with maintaining the peace. Do we return fire or do we wait ? is a typical question asked by soldiers and leaders alike. Civilians don't understand that to wait is to lose lives, Yet to return fire can be against the diplomatic guidelines dictated by the U.N. Basically Mr. Clinton has given the United States military an unsigned check.. Bosnia has the making of a Vietnam. If the world believes that 20,000 U.S. service members in one year will bring peace to Bosnia they are dead wrong. After all it took the Germans in world war II one SS and three Wermacht divisions to control the region.
I feel that America needs to take a moment and asses what is in it for us! This image of the United States being the world crusader for democracy and peace is out dated.
Countries such as Germany, Italy, Japan and France are reaping the rewards of it. America will in due time have a ligament conflict, but this is not the one. Further more we are not going into the area with the right frame of mind. American soldiers typically are kind and caring. they often give the adversary the benefit of the of the doubt. This will prove to be deadly when dealing with the Serbs. As I stated earlier the only thing they understand is brute force. And unfortunately initially American troops are not going to display it. The warring factions in Bosnia have been fighting for hundreds of years. These fights are not going to be settled by only temporary measures.
The permanent fix in Bosnia is to arm the Croatians and let them deal with the aggression of the Serbs themselves. Although this might seem harsh that is all the Croatians have ever requested from the United States.
The ability to defend ones self is the basic right of any country. I strongly advocate the utilization and manipulation of bosnian force to bring about their own form of peace. Containing the war within the region could be done by air strikes and naval gunfire.
In closing I would like to say that this whole Bosnia issue is in my opinion blown out of proportion. Because of the self centered views of the few in power. In sticking to the policy of sending troops to Bosnia Mr. Clinton will have to come to terms with his own conscience. Although the president has chose to gamble with peace in the region a failure will ensure his own defeat in the elections of 1996.
