Western Consensus on Bosnia Unravels Amid Senate Threat

The fragile Western consensus on Bosnia has begun to unravel, with Serbian shells landing on the designated safe zone of Tuzla and President Clinton facing a powerful attempt in the Senate to force a unilateral US breach of the UN's arms embargo. France has warned the US that unless it is ready to help impose a peace settlement including territorial division, French troops will prepare to withdraw from the 38,000-man UN peacekeeping force. President Clinton's preferred option of lifting the Bosnian arms embargo has been stalled by British and French objections, but a Senate bill sponsored by Senator Robert Dole threatens to override these objections.

Key Takeaways:

• The Senate bill introduced by Senator Robert Dole seeks to lift the UN arms embargo on Bosnia, despite opposition from France, Britain, and Russia.
• Eleven Democratic senators have co-sponsored the bill, posing a real threat of a political defeat for President Clinton.
• President Clinton's preferred option of lifting the arms embargo has been stalled by British and French objections, but a Senate bill sponsored by Senator Robert Dole threatens to override these objections.
• France has warned the US that unless it is ready to help impose a peace settlement including territorial division, French troops will prepare to withdraw from the 38,000-man UN peacekeeping force.
• The US, France, Britain, and Russia are at odds over the Bosnian crisis, with the US pushing for a peace settlement while France and Russia seek to maintain their interests.
• The Senate row comes on the eve of a summit of foreign ministers from the US, Russia, France, Britain, and the European Union, an opportunity for the full weight of the international community to be thrown behind a peace settlement.
• The Serbs still assume that the Russians will protect their interests, while the Bosnians seem confident the US will not abandon them to a peace that dismembers Bosnia.

Sources:

• The article does not specify the specific publication or date it was written, but it mentions that it was written by MARTIN WALKER in Washington.