European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 16, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                If gis go to Bosnia by Jim Hoagland the United states has Little Choice. It must say yes if its nato allies ask american troops to cover their withdrawal from Bosnia. But the Clinton administration has great Choice Over How those troops will go in and How they will come out. The president and his advisers must be Clear with themselves Congress the american Public and the warring parties on the rules of engagement before any . Troops Are committed. That Means no More pretence and Wishful thinking on Bosnia. The a peace strategy that Secretary of state Warren Christopher says America pursues must be explicitly abandoned As Allied withdrawal begins. Sending . Soldiers into the Balkans for this limited purpose must be treated As an act of War a with the serbs As the identified enemy. . Troops helping with a withdrawal must not go in As peacekeeping troops bound by the restrictions that apply to the . Force in Bosnia. They must not be used by the state department As agents of diplomacy in the now vain Hope of shaping a settlement. Gis will be in Bosnia to accomplish a limited Mission and to kill anyone who opposes them in that Effort. President Clinton bowed to the inevitable in announcing that he had decided to Send up to 25,000 . Troops to assist in the pullout of . Forces from Bosnia if their withdrawal is ordered. To keep american troops out of the bosnian Retreat would have ended nato and american military leadership globally. Retreat is the most difficult strategic military Man Euver to perform in the Best of circumstances. It could be a hellish task for the fragmented . Force of 23,000 peacekeepers from 15 nations. American muscle must be deployed and unmistakably flexed to keep the serbs a and the muslims who Benefit most from the . Presence in line during a withdrawal. The . Force has been a useful idiot for the serbs helping the British and French fend off american Hawks who Back strategic bombing campaigns and a lifting of the . Arms embargo the serbs will not want to see that protective screen dismantled. The interest of the bosnian Muslim population in obstructing a . Withdrawal is even clearer. For All its weaknesses the . Force has been feeding and protecting the populations of Sarajevo and other Muslim controlled towns. The withdrawal will mean death for a Large number of muslims. America must use a withdrawal strategy that will minimize the Muslim deaths arid military losses that a . Pullout would bring. That goal is morally and strategically in american National interests and justifies a War fighting posture by the american troops who would be used there. Britain and France May not like go As warriors this approach. But they would have to agree to these Steps if they Are the Price for american Protection for their troops. To expedite the withdrawal and provide the muslims with More Protection the departing european troops should leave their tanks and other equipment in bosnian held territory. This is the Carrot for the muslims to let the United nations leave peacefully. If the pullout is obstructed by them the International Force will fight its Way out with and take or destroy that equipment. The . Strategic bombing Campaign that Hawks have Long wanted becomes a real threat in these circumstances. Belgrade and its bosnian serbian allies have to be put on explicit notice that interference with an american assisted withdrawal will trigger the obliteration of All serbian military assets by the . Air Force with infrastructure targets held in Reserve if the serbs continue attacks on the retreating International Force a a a a a a a 7 to be More succinct if flattening Belgrade is what it takes to get serbian acquiescence to a withdrawal that increases the Muslim War fighting ability flattening Belgrade would be justified in this context. Slobodan Milosevic needs to be told that credibly. The end game of  involvement in Bosnia also imposes a reality Check on the administration s critics led by Republican Sens. Bob Dole and John Mccain. Lifting the arms embargo As they advocated for months does not end . Moral responsibility to Bosnia but engages that responsibility More deeply. The embargo  shortly face  of answered prayers. It is possible to construct an american led withdrawal strategy that holds nato together minimizes the Muslim suffering that would result from this action and causes All serbs to think More seriously about the costs of continuing this War. Clinton should seek the help of Dole Mccain and other republicans in designing and explaining such a strategy. And they should give that help. American policy on Bosnia has reached the Waters Edge a where bipartisan agreement must be achieved and observed.  Post standards is All that mattered by now just about everybody agrees it Wasny to a very Bright idea for general motors to put the Gas tanks outside the Side frames on pickup trucks built from 1973 through 1987. I mean outside of strapping it to the front bumper there just does no to seem to be any dumber place to put it. There Are so Many things about this Case which seem perfectly logical but which Arentt. Look the . Department of transportation estimates 150 people have already died because of the ill placed Gas tanks and 32 More will Likely be incinerated before the last truck is junked. This is More people than Are Likely to be eaten by grizzly bears in the same period. Does no to Dot have an obligation to save these 32 people apparently not based on the settlement reached Between the company and the government. You see pm estimated it would Cost $1 billion to recall the trucks which it claims Are Safe enough in the first place a safer in fact than other trucks so Safe Robert Reno that Abc had to stage phony explosions to get Good footage for a hyped to expose. This Means a recall would have Cost pm stockholders roughly $32 million per life saved. One pm truck owner told me that his wife wants him to strap a Bunch of old pillows to the Side of his truck which he refuses to do because All his friends will laugh at him. Maybe she a got something. Anyway lawyers for the government and for general motors got together and figured what the hell a life saved is a life saved. What difference does it make whose it is so pm has among other things agreed to help buy safety seats for 200,000 poor children and sponsor some Drunken driving programs. This Way the Dot claims a lot More than 32 lives can be saved. Using this sort of reasoning pm could have just As easily agreed to spend $51 million lobbying for a gun control Law with real Teeth and saved even More lives probably at a Cost of less than a Dollar apiece. The Core of Gmys argument seems to be that the trucks met All Federal safety standards at the time they were made. This is apparently True. But if this is their excuse Isnit it a Little like saying Federal safety standards Are a program to indemnify manufacturers it suggests you can build a car any Way you want place your customers at added risk put the Gas tank that fought successfully for 20 years to on the dashboard if you want so Long As keep air bags from being included in the you can figure out a Way to meet the let a safety standards. They help write them Ter of existing safety standards. Besides this is after All the Industry c new Day