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Pentagon Insists Leighton Smith Isn’t being Forced from Bosnia
Some in Europe have criticized him for not capturing
Kenneth Bacon said the exact date of departure for Adm. Leighton Smith Jr. will depend on when his chosen successor, Vice Adm. Joseph Lopez, is confirmed by the Senate. Until now officials had been less precise, saying only that he would leave this summer.
The NATO mission in Bosnia is due to end in December.
Smith, a 1962 graduate of the Naval Academy, will retire within two months of leaving his post. Bacon praised him for a "magnificent job" in Bosnia. Smith has been criticized by some, particularly in Europe, who believe the allied troops should take a more aggressive role in finding and arresting suspected war criminals.
Bacon decried what he called "highly unfortunate and inaccurate stories" about Smith leaving because of disagreements with other allied commanders. "Those stories are not true. They are flat wrong," Bacon said.
Smith, whose two-year tour as commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and commander of Allied Forces Southern Europe was up in April, volunteered to leave in order to make room for others below him to be promoted in rank and position, Bacon said.
From his NATO post in Naples, Italy, Smith ran the allied bombing campaign against the Bosnian Serbs last August and September that many credit with creating the conditions which led to the Dayton accord ending the Bosnian war in November. |
WASHINGTON, June 11 (AP) — The U.S. admiral in charge of NATO’s peacekeeping force in Bosnia will leave his post in July but is not being forced out, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday.
Berserkistan, June 6 · Lopez Replaces Smith as NATO Chief
Berserkistan, May 14 · Lopez May Replace Smith as NATO Commander
Interview with Vice Adm. Joseph Lopez Navy Editor Service
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