White House Accuses Republicans
of Undermining Bosnia PolicyWASHINGTON (Reuters) — Republicans in the House of Representatives said Wednesday they would set up a special committee to investigate the Clinton administration's involvement in 1994 Iranian arms shipments to Bosnia. "We're going to investigate this from every possible angle, we're going to try and get access to classified information that thus far has not been available and we're going to see where it leads," said Illinois Republican Representative Henry Hyde, who will chair the subcommittee.
The House Intelligence Committee is also investigating the shipments, trying to determine the extent of U.S. involvement to see if it technically violated laws on covert actions. And Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole has said two Senate committees would investigate reports the administration gave a signal to Croatia that it did not object to Iran arms shipments through Croatia to Muslim Bosnian government forces.
Dole, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, led an unsuccessful effort in Congress to force President Bill Clinton to pull out of a United Nations embargo on the grounds Bosnian Muslims should be able to arm themselves against the Bosnian Serbs.
White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta said he hoped Republicans would not try to play politics with such a serious issue and defended the administration's actions. "The bottom line is that we are now engaged in a very effective Bosnia policy. We're trying to put that country back together again and very frankly the speaker and other Republicans who raise this are undermining that policy at this time," he said.
A Clinton administration official told Congress Tuesday the administration decided not to object to Iranian arms shipments to Bosnia in 1994 because it feared a "military debacle" for the Sarajevo government.
Apr 24 · White House Defends Silence on Iran Arms Issue
Apr 16 · Republicans Challenge Clinton's Arms Nod
Apr 12 · Croatia Would Block More Iranian Arms to Bosnia
Apr 10 · Clinton: U.S. Did Nothing Wrong in Iran Arms Aid to Bosnia
Apr 9 · Iran Says it Supplied Humanitarian Aid to Bosnia
Apr 6 · Paper says Clinton Gave Nod to Covert Arms
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