ACCESSION NUMBER:00000
FILE ID:95062103.POL
DATE:06/21/95
TITLE:ADD STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21
TEXT:
(Bosnia) (400)
NEWS BRIEFING -- Spokesman Nicholas Burns discussed the following
issue:
U.S. CONSULTING WITH ALLIES ON RAPID REACTION FORCE
The United States has been holding intensive discussions with Britain,
France and the Netherlands -- the major troop-contributing countries
to the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) -- about the
specific role they believe will be played by the Rapid Reaction Force
being formed in Bosnia, Burns said.
Those countries will provide "the backbone" of the Rapid Reaction
Force, the spokesman pointed out. "We support the creation of this
force," he declared. "We believe that it will help in the quest to
maintain UNPROFOR in the region and to strengthen it."
"We do have an interest in sorting out with our allies what the exact
mission of the Rapid Reaction Force would be," Burns told questioners.
"We're seeking a clarification from those countries on that specific
question."
The administration is involved in "quite intensive" discussions with
various members of Congress about ways to fund the 12,500-member force
and hopes "to work it out very shortly," Burns said. Last week, the
United States told the U.N. Security Council that it would not agree
to pay for the Rapid Reaction Force through the normal financial
mechanism for U.N. peacekeeping.
President Clinton and Secretary of State Christopher "have made very
clear our full support for the Rapid Reaction Force and our full
support for the activities of our allies who are the major troop
contributors to UNPROFOR," the spokesman said. "We're the major
contributor of money to support UNPROFOR. We have supported the
largest airlift in history of humanitarian goods over the last couple
of years. We have been involved. We have a voice and we are supporting
those who have troops on the ground," he said.
Troops that will be included in the Rapid Reaction Force began to
arrive in Bosnia about two and a half weeks ago. "We have pledged to
support it with communications and logistics, intelligence and lift
capabilities," Burns said.
Explaining U.S. policy in support of the Rapid Reaction Force, he
said, "We believe it's in our strategic interest to keep UNPROFOR in
the region and to strengthen it. We believe that the presence of the
force in bolstering the current U.N. mission will in fact strengthen
that U.N. mission."
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