Bosnia Herzegovina Military Aid Europe

A revived debate over whether to arm the nearly defeated government forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina has undermined today's peace talks in Geneva and widened a rift in the Sarajevo leadership. At a European Community summit in Copenhagen, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl disclosed some wavering among the 12 nations in their opposition to lifting a U.N. arms embargo by suggesting that the embattled government be allowed to buy weapons to defend the country against nationalist land grabs.

The Clinton administration's bid to muster international help to arm and train the Bosnian government army received a serious setback Thursday as several key European countries served notice that they will not provide significant help. With a meeting of potential donors scheduled for Ankara, Turkey, today, France, Britain, Germany and the Netherlands have all declined to contribute substantially. Other potential donors, such as Saudi Arabia, have signaled that they too may hold back. U.S.

While the risks of military intervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina have compelled Western leaders to rethink their threatened use of force, some analysts warn that inaction may be the most dangerous choice of all. Consider some of what might happen, according to these observers' nightmare scenario: * A "Greater Serbia" emerges from the sprawling mass of Serb-conquered territory. In some views, it will be an ethnically pure monument to nationalist brutality and may inspire tyrants around the world.

A revived debate over whether to arm the nearly defeated government forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina has undermined today's peace talks in Geneva and widened a rift in the Sarajevo leadership. At a European Community summit in Copenhagen, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl disclosed some wavering among the 12 nations in their opposition to lifting a U.N. arms embargo by suggesting that the embattled government be allowed to buy weapons to defend the country against nationalist land grabs.

Western leaders toughened their talk on Monday of taking action against Serbia, especially for violating the U.N.-imposed "no-fly zone" over Bosnia-Herzegovina, as a veteran of Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Cabinet resigned, saying he was ashamed by the German government's "do-nothing stance" on the Yugoslav bloodshed. In Stockholm, French Foreign Minister Roland Dumas told Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger that Paris is now prepared to support a U.N.

The United States and its allies appear to be moving reluctantly toward an outcome in Bosnia-Herzegovina that would leave the Serbs in control of territory they have seized and deploy U.N. troops to guard "protected areas" for the remaining Muslims, U.S. officials and allied diplomats said Wednesday. The Clinton Administration is unenthusiastic about the idea, but Britain, France and other countries with troops already in Bosnia are hammering out a plan that could put as many as 75,000 U.N.

Accepting diplomatic defeat at the hands of its own allies, the Clinton Administration admitted Monday that it has failed to win Western European approval for stronger steps to end the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina and said it is shelving the problem for at least a week. Bosnia "is in kind of a holding pattern for the moment," said White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers. "The President is working to build a consensus for action. I don't think we are expecting any action in the immediate future."

The Clinton administration's bid to muster international help to arm and train the Bosnian government army received a serious setback Thursday as several key European countries served notice that they will not provide significant help. With a meeting of potential donors scheduled for Ankara, Turkey, today, France, Britain, Germany and the Netherlands have all declined to contribute substantially. Other potential donors, such as Saudi Arabia, have signaled that they too may hold back. U.S.

European and North American foreign ministers on Tuesday expressed "horror and dismay" at the brutal Yugoslav ethnic war. But they stopped short of recommending an end to the Bosnia-Herzegovina arms embargo, which has crippled the Muslim-led government's attempt to defend itself. In a hotly debated communique that delayed adjournment for an hour and a half, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe urged the U.N.

Balkan diplomacy snagged again Monday as the embattled Muslims of Bosnia-Herzegovina pleaded with the European Community to lift the international arms embargo against their country and the EC pressed them to accept the division of their country into ethnic zones. Neither appeal succeeded, although Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic left open the possibility of negotiating with neighboring Serbia and Croatia over their proposal to carve Bosnia into three largely autonomous ethnic regions.

Balkan diplomacy snagged again Monday as the embattled Muslims of Bosnia-Herzegovina pleaded with the European Community to lift the international arms embargo against their country and the EC pressed them to accept the division of their country into ethnic zones. Neither appeal succeeded, although Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic left open the possibility of negotiating with neighboring Serbia and Croatia over their proposal to carve Bosnia into three largely autonomous ethnic regions.

The United States and its allies appear to be moving reluctantly toward an outcome in Bosnia-Herzegovina that would leave the Serbs in control of territory they have seized and deploy U.N. troops to guard "protected areas" for the remaining Muslims, U.S. officials and allied diplomats said Wednesday. The Clinton Administration is unenthusiastic about the idea, but Britain, France and other countries with troops already in Bosnia are hammering out a plan that could put as many as 75,000 U.N.

While the risks of military intervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina have compelled Western leaders to rethink their threatened use of force, some analysts warn that inaction may be the most dangerous choice of all. Consider some of what might happen, according to these observers' nightmare scenario: * A "Greater Serbia" emerges from the sprawling mass of Serb-conquered territory. In some views, it will be an ethnically pure monument to nationalist brutality and may inspire tyrants around the world.

The preponderant weight of opinion among Western European political and military leaders and strategists is that risks of action involving force in Bosnia-Herzegovina are far greater than those of inaction. "This is a horrible dilemma for Europe," one senior British government adviser said. "Everyone is appalled by the horror of what is going on there.

Accepting diplomatic defeat at the hands of its own allies, the Clinton Administration admitted Monday that it has failed to win Western European approval for stronger steps to end the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina and said it is shelving the problem for at least a week. Bosnia "is in kind of a holding pattern for the moment," said White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers. "The President is working to build a consensus for action. I don't think we are expecting any action in the immediate future."

European and North American foreign ministers on Tuesday expressed "horror and dismay" at the brutal Yugoslav ethnic war. But they stopped short of recommending an end to the Bosnia-Herzegovina arms embargo, which has crippled the Muslim-led government's attempt to defend itself. In a hotly debated communique that delayed adjournment for an hour and a half, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe urged the U.N.

The preponderant weight of opinion among Western European political and military leaders and strategists is that risks of action involving force in Bosnia-Herzegovina are far greater than those of inaction. "This is a horrible dilemma for Europe," one senior British government adviser said. "Everyone is appalled by the horror of what is going on there.

Western leaders toughened their talk on Monday of taking action against Serbia, especially for violating the U.N.-imposed "no-fly zone" over Bosnia-Herzegovina, as a veteran of Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Cabinet resigned, saying he was ashamed by the German government's "do-nothing stance" on the Yugoslav bloodshed. In Stockholm, French Foreign Minister Roland Dumas told Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger that Paris is now prepared to support a U.N.