But Bosnia Must Remove Islamic Fighters FirstBy Carol Giacomo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — A presidential mission to three Gulf states this week raised $100 million and will enable the controversial U.S.-led effort to arm and train Bosnia's army to become a reality, officials said Wednesday. The actual start of the program is being held up because Sarajevo has not met U.S. demands to remove foreign Islamic fighters from the country and form an integrated military command for the Muslim-Croat federation that is one of Bosnia's two main political entities.But the new donations bring the total available to $200 million and "makes this program real" and ready to go as soon as the U.S. conditions are met, an official said. Even before that, however, a contract for a U.S. firm to run sophisticated military training in Bosnia is expected to be allowed, said the official, who spoke anonymously.
Mission to United Arab Emirates and Kuwait
"President Clinton's Bosnia peace intiative took another important step forward earlier this week when key Arab states committed about $100 million to fund the U.S.-led train and equip program," James Pardew, U.S. coordinator of the program, told reporters. He said the money was pledged to a delegation led by presidential counselor Mack McLarty that visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait Monday and Tuesday.The mission's success "will enable the training element of the train and equip program to move ahead in a timely manner" and, combined with the U.S. commitment of $100 million in military equipment, "will provide a solid foundation for improving" the federation's military capability, he added. Officials would not say how much each of the three countries donated or even if all three were contributors.
After the U.S.-brokered Bosnia peace treaty was reached last November, the United States said Bosnia's Muslim-led government would need $800 million to make their capability comparable to rival Bosnian Serb forces. But the Americans have had a hard time persuading other countries to go along and so expectations have been reduced. A conference in Ankara last month to raise money for the program was a failure with only the United States — which offered $100 million in arms like tanks, helicopters and rifles — and Turkey pledging any significant assistance.
Europeans Resist Arms Program
Europeans have resisted the program, arguing against introducing new military capabilities into a tinderbox region. Instead, they have focused on arms control efforts that depend on persuading Serbs to give up some of their capability. The United States, however, insists that in addition to arms control, the federation must be provided with the arms and training needed to prevent Serbs from trying to rekindle a war once 60,000 NATO peacekeepers leave Bosnia at year's end.U.S. officials argued against making too much of the difference between the initial $800 million target and the $200 million now on hand. They said they expected the Gulf mission to stimulate other donations. In an effort to ensure the program, the United States turned to its friends among the Islamic Gulf states who share a common religious heritage with the Bosnian Muslims.
The mission turned significantly on McLarty's strong assurances of Clinton's personal commitment to ensuring Bosnia's Muslim-led government has adequate military capabilities to deter future aggression by the better-armed Serbs, officials said. Pardew said that in meetings with the Gulf state leaders McLarty delivered personal messages from Clinton stressing the program's importance to the Bosnia peace agreement. Also key was an appeal by Bosnian government officials who calmed the fears of Gulf states who did not want their donations to aid the Croats.
U.S. officials said the Bosnians helped persuade Gulf leaders the Muslim-Croat federation was essential to Bosnia's future as a state.
Berserkistan is a world news service of Michael Linder Productions, Inc.
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