ACCESSION NUMBER:00000
FILE ID:95110701.POL
DATE:11/07/95
TITLE:07-11-95 CONGRESSIONAL REPORT, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7
TEXT:
(Inhofe) (370)
INHOFE CRITICISM UNCHANGED BY WEEKEND TRIP TO BOSNIA
Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, a member of the Senate
Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, says a weekend trip to
Bosnia has not changed his mind about the serious dangers that would
confront American ground forces sent there to help implement a future
peace agreement.
In an October 7 news conference, Inhofe reported on his November 2-5
trip that included briefings by U.S., NATO and U.N. commanders in
Germany and Italy and visits to Sarajevo and Tuzla.
Inhofe said he talked with "virtually every element of command" in the
proposed mission under which U.S. troops would go into Bosnia for up
to 12 months if a peace agreement is worked out, and he still believes
that the deployment would be a serious mistake which the United States
would live to regret.
All the commanders, he said, agreed that Bosnia is a classic
environment for military "mission creep," an environment in which an
originally limited peacekeeping mission can change and expand over
time.
In addition, he said, the commanders stressed how difficult it would
be to tell the difference between a random act, an attack by a rogue
element, and an "authorized" or "systemic" breach of the peace
agreement. "Bosnia is filled with a confusing array of factions,
profiteers and bandits of all kinds," he said. "Many do not answer to
the parties who may sign a peace accord."
The commanders also agreed, he said, that a lasting peace in Bosnia
could not be achieved "in anything close to 12 months."
As for rules of engagement, Inhofe said it is clear from his visit
"that common-sense combat-style responses to attacks would not be
allowed. Instead, it was stated that NATO forces would seek to use the
'minimum reaction and minimum force necessary' to repel or deter
attacks," he said.
The mission and objective of U.S. and NATO forces have never been made
clear, he said.
Inhofe said "it is vitally important that Congress and the American
people debate these issues fully and openly" before any commitment is
made by the president to involve U.S. troops.
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