[House Document 105-100]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress, 1st Session  - - - - - - - - - - House Document 105-100


 
SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT ON THE DEPLOYMENT OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES TO 
                 BOSNIA AND OTHER STATES IN THE REGION

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

HIS SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT ON THE DEPLOYMENT OF COMBAT-EQUIPPED U.S. ARMED 
FORCES TO BOSNIA AND OTHER STATES IN THE REGION IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE 
IN AND SUPPORT THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION-LED STABILIZATION 
 FORCE (SFOR), AND ON THE BEGINNING OF THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE NATO-LED 
     IMPLEMENTATION FORCE (IFOR), WHICH COMPLETED ITS MISSION AND 
         TRANSFERRED AUTHORITY TO THE SFOR ON DECEMBER 20, 1996




 June 23, 1997.--Referred to the Committee on International Relations 
                       and ordered to be printed
                                           The White House,
                                     Washington, DC, June 20, 1997.
Hon. Newt Gingrich,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Speaker: In my report to the Congress of December 
20, 1996, I provided further information on the deployment of 
combat-equipped U.S. Armed Forces to Bosnia and other states in 
the region in order to participate in and support the North 
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-led Stabilization Force 
(SFOR), and on the beginning of the withdrawal of the NATO-led 
Implementation Force (IFOR), which completed its mission and 
transferred authority to the SFOR on December 20, 1996. I am 
providing this supplemental report, consistent with the War 
Powers Resolution, to help ensure that the Congress is kept 
fully informed on continued U.S. contributions in support of 
peacekeeping efforts in the former Yugoslavia.
    We continue to work in concert with others in the 
international community to encourage the parties to fulfill 
their commitments under the Dayton Peace Agreement and to build 
on the gains achieved over the last 18 months. It remains in 
the United States national interest to help bring peace to 
Bosnia, both for humanitarian reasons and to arrest the dangers 
the fighting in Bosnia represented to security and stability in 
Europe generally. Through American leadership and in 
conjunction with our NATO allies and other countries, we have 
seen real and continued progress toward sustainable peace in 
Bosnia. We have also made it clear to the former warring 
parties that it is they who are ultimately responsible for 
implementing the Peace Agreement.
    The United Nations Security Council authorized member 
states to establish the follow-on force in United Nations 
Security Council Resolution 1088 of December 12, 1996. The 
SFOR's tasks are to deter or prevent a resumption of 
hostilities or new threats to peace, to consolidate IFOR's 
achievements and to promote a climate in which the civilian-led 
peace process can go forward. Subject to this primary mission, 
SFOR will provide selective support, within its capabilities, 
to civilian organizations implementing the Dayton Peace 
Agreement. The parties to thePeace Agreement have all confirmed 
to NATO their support for the SFOR mission. In particular, the leaders 
of Bosnia and Herzegovina have indicated that they welcome NATO's 
planned 18-month SFOR mission to be formally reviewed at 6 and 12 
months with a view to shifting the focus from stabilization to 
deterrence, reducing the force's presence and completing the mission by 
June 1998. The first such review is to be conducted on June 26, 1997.
    United States force contribution to SFOR in Bosnia 
currently is approximately 8,500, roughly half the size of the 
force deployed with IFOR at the peak of its strength. Many of 
the U.S. forces participating in SFOR are U.S. Army forces that 
were stationed in Germany. Other participating U.S. forces 
include special operations forces, airfield operations support 
forces, air forces, and reserve personnel. An amphibious force 
is normally in reserve in the Mediterranean Sea, and a carrier 
battle group remains available to provide support for air 
operations.
    All NATO nations and 21 others, including Russia, have 
provided troops or other support to SFOR. Most U.S. troops are 
assigned to Multinational Division, North, centered around the 
city of Tuzla. In addition, approximately 2,800 U.S. troops are 
deployed to Hungary, Croatia, Italy, and other states in the 
region in order to provide logistical and other support to 
SFOR.
    Since the transfer of authority from IFOR to SFOR on 
December 20, 1996, U.S. forces sustained a total of two 
fatalities, neither of which was combat-related. Four American 
service members were also injured in accidents. As with the 
U.S. forces, traffic accidents, landmines, and other accidents 
were the primary causes of injury to SFOR personnel.
    A U.S. Army contingent remains deployed in the Former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as part of the United Nations 
Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP). This U.N. peacekeeping 
force observes and monitors conditions along the border with 
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Albania, effectively 
contributing to the stability of the region. Several U.S. Army 
support helicopters are also deployed to provide support to 
U.S. forces and UNPREDEP as required. Most of the approximately 
500 U.S. soldiers participating in these missions are assigned 
to the 2nd Battalion, 37th Armor, 1st Armored Division. A small 
contingent of U.S. military personnel is also serving in 
Croatia in direct support of the Transitional Administrator of 
the United Nations Transitional Administration in Eastern 
Slovenia.
    I have directed the participation of U.S. Armed Forces in 
these operations pursuant to my constitutional authority to 
conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and 
Chief Executive, and in accordance with various statutory 
authorities. I am providing this report as part of my efforts 
to keep the Congress fully informed about developments in 
Bosnia and other states in the region. I will continue to 
consult closely with the Congress regarding our efforts to 
foster peace and stability in the former Yugoslavia.
            Sincerely,
                                                William J. Clinton.

                                
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