Chicago, IL., November 26, 1995 --1st Armored Division troops are on alert at several bases in Europe. They are preparing for deployment to Bosnia. A "peace-keeping" mission is being ordered by their Commander in Chief Bill Clinton, and the troops are drawing their weapons, ammunition, and coldweather equipment and making themselves ready for movement. Secretary of Defense William Perry says that it is possible that the first contingent of American military engineers will arrive in Bosnia by the first of December, with as many as 20,000 other combat troops being sent there by mid or late December.
A controversy is swirling in Republican circles in Washington, as well as in the military itself, about the advisability of this mission. Parallels are already being drawn, by critics, to past "peace-keeping" missions in Somalia and Haiti. Memories of a recent debacle in Somalia, where 18 American troops were killed on one disastrous October day, are being dredged up and revisited. The "warlords" that were to have been purged by American efforts have reassumed their control of the countryside and hunger and violence again threaten the population. Some would suggest that nothing was accomplished in Somalia except the deaths of some of America's finest troops and another "black-eye" was given to American foreign policy.
As riots spread through the streets of Cite Soleil, Haiti and U.S. backed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is allegedly calling for "vigilante action" against his political opponents, administration critics wonder what was accomplished there, as well. Rumors abound that Aristide may not follow constitutional dictates, and plans to remain in power for an additional three years. Local experts say that the currently tense situation in Haiti may well lead to a violent reaction if scheduled Dec. 17th elections aren't held. Some knowledgeable local observers even suggest that Aristide could be removed by yet another coup, similar to the one that removed him from power in the first place.
The most obvious parallels that are being pointed out involve the fact that U.S. troops are about to be inserted to a civil war that has lasted for many decades. No specific mission objectives have been given by the Clinton Administration, except that the troops are to "monitor a zone of separation" between Moslem, Croatian, and Serbian forces. The duration of the commitment has not been firmly set, but estimated by Sec.of Def. Perry at approximately one year. As in Somalia, U.S. Troops will not be ultimately under American command, but this time, they will report to American NATO Commander Gen. George Joulwan, instead of the United Nations. Concerns have also already been raised, that like in Somalia, Americans may be perceived as favoring one side over another in the conflict. Americans may be seen by Serb extremist groups as supporting the Croats or Moslems, because American planes have previously bombed Serb positions.
Military experts say that there are many dangers awaiting U.S. soldiers in Bosnia. Landmines, terrorist groups, local paramilitary organizations, and possible guerrilla operations. They suggest that there could easily be casualties, maybe even large numbers of American deaths, if artillery, carbombs, or other explosives are used against American forces.
Critics would suggest that the only reason that American forces are being inserted into this perilous set of circumstances is that President Clinton had made a previous commitment to send American forces to support a precarious peace accord, finally engineered by Clinton administration officials. They say the main motivation for the mission is preventing a "loss of face" for Clinton and his foreign policy. Neo-isolationists in Washington question what overriding "national interests" are at stake in Bosnia and say that aside from "naive altruistic motives" they can't identify a real purpose in the American deployment.
We, at ENN, agree with the detractors to the deployment. Our overriding concern is for the lives of the American soldiers that will be placed "in harms way". Unless new facts come to light, it is our belief that the Bosnian mission, however well meaning, may be a futile attempt to solve a problem that must be resolved solely by the parties involved. American intervention can not dictate, nor resolve in any meaningful way, the political or religious differences that have caused the current state of civil war in Bosnia. Regardless of the level of American deployment, if Serbian extremists are committed to killing Moslems or Croats, they will die. More unfortunate would be the unnecessary deaths of young American men and women, caught in the cross-fire of a naive and overly ambitious foreign policy.
(c) Emergencynet NEWS Service, 1995
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