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NATO Delays Decision on Bosnia Extention until September
‘We all agree that this is far too early to decide
"We all agree that this is far too early to decide what, if anything, should be done after Dec. 20," NATO Secretary General Javier Solana said Thursday, adding that Bosnian elections planned for autumn would help the decision. Officials have avoided talk about extending the mission, in part for fear that might relieve pressure on Bosnians to take responsibility for stemming the ethnic tensions that still divide the nation.
Under terms of the peace agreement signed last year in Dayton, Ohio, elections are to be held no later than Sept. 14, but many experts have strong doubts that Bosnia -- still seething from the 3˝-year war -- will be ready. Defense ministers from the 16 NATO nations plan a meeting Sept. 25 in Bergen, Norway, to decide whether to extend the mission, which has a 60,000-strong NATO-led force from 30 nations.
Defense Secretary William Perry declined to speculate on the shape of any NATO mission in Bosnia next year, but repeated earlier suggestions that air power alone may be enough to guarantee the peace. A French defense minister participated Thursday in a NATO meeting for the first time in 30 years.
France returned fully to NATO in December. President Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of its integrated military structure in 1966. French Defense Minister Charles Millon, however, said Paris had no plans to place French nuclear weapons under NATO control. It was willing, he said, to discuss the concept of using French nuclear weapons in conjunction with NATO.
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BRUSSELS, June 14 (AP) -- The United States and its NATO allies have put off until September a decision on the sensitive question of whether to extend the alliance’s peace mission in Bosnia. NATO’s mandate in Bosnia ends Dec. 19, but it is increasingly clear some sort of foreign military presence will be necessary after that to prevent a resumption of bloodshed that left more than 200,000 dead or missing.
Berserkistan, June 13 · Perry: NATO Faces Long, Hot Summer in Bosnia
Berserkistan, June 13 · U.S. Says it Will Not Give Up NATO Military Command
Berserkistan, June 12 · NATO to Weigh Bosnia Progress on Thursday
Berserkistan, June 12 · Perry Favors US in Bosnia in '97
Berserkistan, June 11 · NATO’s Michael Walker Sees Extended Bosnia Mission
Berserkistan, June 11 · Britain’s Defence Committee Calls for Peacekeepers after IFOR
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