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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