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British Foreign Secretary Says U.S. Help is Essential
LONDON, April 17 (Reuters) — Events in Bosnia demonstrate that Europe is not capable of tackling military crises without the help of the United States, British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said on Wednesday. In a speech prepared for delivery to financiers and businessmen in London, Rifkind was also frank in his criticism of the international community's handling of the conflict in the former Yugoslav republic.

The United Nations peace-keeping force sent to Bosnia did its job honorably, saving tens of thousands of lives, but it faced an impossible task because there was in fact no peace to keep, Rifkind argued. "If in future we want to intervene in a war zone, we must dispatch a force which is suitably structured and equipped for a role which might lead to combat," he said.

Policy by Declaration Doesn't Work
A second lesson was that foreign policy "by declaration" must be avoided: the international community declared Muslim enclaves in Bosnia to be safe areas under U.N. protection but never committed the forces necessary to make them a reality. "The result was a damaging blow to international credibility," the foreign secretary said.

The warring factions were not forced to the negotiating table at Dayton until the United States threw its full weight behind a peace effort in Bosnia and agreed to deploy troops to implement an agreement, he added. This led to the third conclusion to be drawn from the Bosnian crisis. "When the international community faces a crisis on the scale of Yugoslavia's collapse, direct U.S. involvement is indispensable — especially if military action is required. "A 'European solution to a European problem' was never a realistic option," Rikfind said.

While some of Britain's European Union partners say the shortcomings over Bosnia point to the need for a common security and foreign policy, Rifkind, whose Conservative Party opposes ever-closer European ties, drew a very different conclusion — that the EU cannot afford to go it alone. "As events since Dayton have shown, the transatlantic partnership is the key to success. That partnership, of Europe and America working together, delivers results, diplomatic and military. So my firm view is that any arrangements we devise for the future must reflect that point," Rifkind said.


The Rt Hon Malcolm Rifkind, QC, MP

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