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Germany Ready to Join Scaled-Down Bosnia Peace Force By Michael Shields
"The international community must prevent the war from resuming," Ruehe told the Bild am Sonntag weekly, but added talks on how to do this would come only after Bosnia holds its first post-war elections in mid-September. "Disarmament and the balance of power in the region are important. NATO will also consider ways to prevent the resumption of war from abroad, perhaps by using aircraft as a deterrent," he said.
"If necessary, it will come to a limited deployment of troops in Bosnia, and German armed forces will not stand on the sidelines." Ruehe's comment was the signal diplomats have been awaiting to see whether Bonn was serious about using the Balkans mission to help foster a common European defence policy and give Germany a bigger role in world affairs. "This will be the moment of truth," one Bonn-based ambassador said before Ruehe spoke. "We are all waiting to see whether the Germans will do this. It will be a crucial signal for Europe's common foreign and security policy."
Germany contributed around 4,000 soldiers to the current Balkans peacekeeping force in its most ambitious foreign military mission since World War Two. Their role has been mostly limited to logistics and support tasks. Chancellor Helmut Kohl made it a matter of honour for German
troops to serve beside NATO allies who helped defend West Germany's freedom during the Cold War. But he had to move cautiously given a strong pacifist streak spawned by the horrors the Nazi unleashed on Europe and misgivings about the wisdom of sending German soldiers to an area Hitler's troops once brutally occupied.
Kohl's centre-right coalition governs with only a thin majority, but many opposition Social Democrats have signalled they would support an extended German military role in the Balkans if needed to preserve the peace. Germany's Der Spiegel magazine reported that Ruehe was prepared to contribute some 500 to 1,000 soldiers to whatever international force remains in Bosnia next year. While a final decision is still months away, it was already clear that the new force would have to supervise the former combatants' compliance with arms control accords, protect civilian aid agencies and help rebuild infrastructure, it said.
Officials have estimated some 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers would have to be stationed in Bosnian hot spots, such as the thin Brcko corridor that forms a land bridge between Serb territories. NATO rapid reaction forces would have to be on stand-by status to rush to the rescue should serious fighting resume. Der Spiegel said NATO planners wanted to establish an alliance headquarters in southern Hungary at bases now used exclusively by U.S forces.
Warplanes based in Italy, Germany and on a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Adriatic would also help deter an outbreak of fighting, it said.
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BONN, July 7 (Reuters) - Germany is ready to contribute soldiers to a scaled-down peacekeeping operation in Bosnia if one is needed to preserve stability there once the bulk of NATO-led troops withdraws, Defence Minister Volker Ruehe said. His comment in a newspaper interview published on Sunday broke with Bonn's standard line that it was too early to discuss extending NATO's presence in the Balkans after the IFOR peacekeeping mission's mandate expires in December.
Berserkistan, June 23 · Germany Wants Troops to Remain in Bosnia
Berserkistan, June 21 · NATO Commander: Elections, Then Talk of Extended Mission
Berserkistan, June 21 · House Republicans Alarmed by 'Mission Creep'
Berserkistan, June 12 · Clinton: Stick to IFOR Timetable
Berserkistan, June 12 · NATO to Weigh Bosnia Progress on Thursday
Berserkistan, June 12 · Perry Favors US in Bosnia in '97
Berserkistan, Mar 27 · Perry: New Bosnia Role is not 'Mission Creep'
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