U.S. Backs Plan to Expand IFOR Beyond Military Tasks
BRUSSELS, March 6 (Reuters) - The United States gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for NATO's Bosnia peace force to take on a wider role and not limit itself strictly to military tasks in the wrecked country, alliance sources said.
Detailed guidelines for the 60,000-strong Implementation Force (IFOR) spell out exactly what it can do to help in other areas, such as protecting mass graves, detaining war criminals, helping organise elections and resettling refugees. "The U.S. has confirmed it has no problems with the guidelines, so we have sent them on down the line," said one senior diplomatic source.
He stressed any decision to help in any other area would be left to the discretion of the local commander and in no way undermined the main task of the military.
The new directive, hammered out by NATO's policy-making Council of Ambassadors over recent weeks, followed a formal request from the alliance's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General George Joulwan. NATO sources said Joulwan expected the imminent end of the long Balkan winter to lead to increasing calls for the alliance to use its huge resources in other areas.
U.S. sources said the administration had no problem with the new "political guidelines" for the military which they stressed did not change its main role — that of creating a secure environment for the Dayton peace accords.
Memories of Somalia Haunt U.S.
"There is a big difference between mission evolution and
mission creep. We are not stumbling blind-folded forwards, but
consciously looking at other areas where we can help without
undermining our primary task," said one alliance diplomat.
NATO has also drawn a "memorandum of understanding"
clarifying its relationship with the international War Crimes
Tribunal in The Hague. All non-NATO countries, except Russia,
taking part in IFOR have also endorsed the memorandum.
Russia Uncommitted to New Plan
NATO diplomats said the alliance would continue
reconnaissance flights over the site of suspected war atrocities
and inform the tribunal the moment any suspicious activity was
noted.
The United States, still suffering from Somalia nightmares
where a humanitarian mission slipped into an urban
guerrilla-style conflict over one warlord, has insisted NATO
must avoid what is termed "mission creep."
Equally, with the military mission in Bosnia virtually
accomplished, NATO leaders are eager the huge force does not
appear to stand idly by and hide behind mandates when it could
be helping in other areas crucial to the mission's ultimate
success or failure.
"We are waiting for Russian assent, clearly all IFOR
countries not just NATO should be on board," said one source.
He said the memorandum dealt with the technical and legal
aspects of detaining indicted war criminals and passing them on
to the tribunal, such as access to lawyers, conditions of
detention and notification of next of kin.
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