[House Document 106-8]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





106th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 
106-8


 
          U.S. PEACEKEEPING EFFORTS IN THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

A SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT ON U.S. CONTRIBUTIONS IN SUPPORT OF PEACEKEEPING 
                    EFFORTS IN THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA




February 2, 1999.--Referred to the Committee on International Relations 
                       and ordered to be printed
                         ____________


                  U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
69-011                    WASHINGTON : 1999


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                                           The White House,
                                      Washington, January 19, 1999.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
    Dear Mr. Speaker: In my report to the Congress of June 19, 
1998, 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), which began its mission and assumed authority from the 
NATO-led Implementation Force 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.
    The U.N. Security Council authorized member states to 
continue SFOR in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1174 of June 
15, 1998. The mission of SFOR is to provide a continued 
military presence in order to deter renewed hostilities, 
stabilize and consolidate the peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and 
contribute to a secure environment to facilitate the civilian 
implementation process to which SFOR provides broad support 
within its means and capabilities.
    The U.S. force contribution to SFOR in Bosnia is 
approximately 6,900. In the last half of 1998, all NATO nations 
and 19 others, including Russia and Ukraine, have provided 
military personnel or other support to SFOR. Most U.S. military 
personnel are assigned to Multinational Division, North, 
centered around the city of Tuzla. In addition, approximately 
2,300 U.S. military personnel are deployed to Hungary, Croatia, 
Italy, and other states in the region in order to provide 
logistical and other support to SFOR. The U.S. forces continue 
to support SFOR in efforts to apprehend persons indicted for 
war crimes. In the last 6 months, U.S. forces have sustained no 
fatalities.
    A U.S. Army contingent remains deployed in the Former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) as part of the United 
Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP). This U.N. 
peacekeeping force, which includes some 350 U.S. military 
personnel, observes and monitors conditions along the border 
with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The UNPREDEP continues 
to play a key role in preventing the spillover of ethnic 
conflict from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) into 
FYROM and the region. In doing so, it has helped FYROM become a 
bulwark against the southward spread of the conflict in the 
FRY. Several U.S. Army support helicopters and approximately 24 
personnel are also deployed to provide support to U.S. forces 
and may provide emergency support to UNPREDEP as required. The 
U.N. Security Council voted July 21, 1998, to authorize an 
extension of the UNPREDEP mandate through February 28, 1999. To 
help maintain stability in the region in light of the situation 
in Kosovo, we are currently considering the extension of 
UNPREDEP's mandate.
    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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