Clinton Aide Warns of Risk of Bosnia Pullout
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WASHINGTON — The United States and other nations must stay in Bosnia-Herzegovina “for a good while to come” to ensure that peace takes hold, National Security Advisor Samuel R. “Sandy” Berger said Tuesday. An early pullout could risk war in Europe, he cautioned.
President Clinton’s top foreign policy advisor said the current NATO mission to stabilize the former Yugoslav federation will end in June as scheduled--and as required by congressional critics who fear an open-ended obligation. But Berger emphasized what Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright have indicated for months: that “the international community’s engagement will continue” beyond next summer.
“Peace is beginning to take root,” Berger said in a speech at Georgetown University. “The gains are not irreversible, and locking them in will require that the international community stay engaged in Bosnia in some fashion for a good while to come.”
The White House said Berger’s address wasn’t meant to signal change in U.S. policy on Bosnia.
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