THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 15, 1995 TAG: 9507150376
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
The military chiefs of the United States and its key NATO allies will meet in London Sunday to discuss what to do about the deteriorating situation in strife-torn Bosnia.
The conferees will aim to find ways for France, Britain and the United States to buttress the military clout of United Nations troops in Bosnia and counter the danger of continued ethnic cleansing by Bosnian Serbs.
Whatever the NATO allies decide, U.S. forces probably will play an increased role in Bosnia soon.
President Clinton's national security advisers met at the White House for 2 1/2 hours Friday afternoon and recommended that the Clinton administration investigate ways to provide airlift and equipment to the NATO Rapid Reaction Force in Bosnia.
White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry described the situation in eastern Bosnia where the Serbs have been moving against the U.N.-protected Muslim enclaves as ``urgent and dire.''
Gen. John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is flying to London for the Sunday meeting.
Asked about a French deadline of 48 hours for a decision on whether to buttress U.N. forces in Bosnia or withdraw them, McCurry said the process of decision-making would take longer.
Clinton and his top military and foreign policy advisers searched feverishly Friday for a new consensus among the NATO allies on how to respond to this week's conquest of Srebrenica by Bosnian Serbs.
``He (Clinton) believes it's an urgent matter, and he has been working on it urgently,'' said McCurry.
Clinton conferred by phone for 30 minutes with British Prime Minister John Major Friday afternoon.
Every course of action being considered would sink U.S. forces deeper into danger. The primary options appear to be providing heavier U.S. air cover and transport duties for a strengthened U.N. mission, as France demands, or sending 25,000 U.S. ground troops to cover the U.N.'s withdrawal.
The White House goal, McCurry said, is ``strengthening the U.N. presence in Bosnia so that it can do its job effectively.''
Asked how far the U.S. might be prepared to go toward strengthening the U.N. mission, McCurry said, ``that's an impossible question to answer.'' McCurry did say Clinton's refusal to introduce U.S. troops as combatants was unlikely to change. by CNB