    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [November 21, 1995]
    [Pages 1776-1778]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Announcing the Bosnia-Herzegovina Peace Agreement and an
    Exchange With Reporters
    November 21, 1995

        Good morning. About an hour ago I spoke with Secretary Christopher
    in Dayton, Ohio. He informed me that the Presidents of Bosnia, Croatia,
    and Serbia have reached a peace agreement to end the war in Bosnia, to
    end the worst conflict in Europe since World War II.
        After nearly 4 years of 250,000 people killed, 2 million refugees,
    atrocities that have appalled people all over the world, the people of
    Bosnia finally have a chance to turn from the horror of war to the
    promise of peace.
        The Presidents of Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia have made a historic
    and heroic choice. They have heeded the will of their people. Whatever
    their ethnic group, the overwhelming majority of Bosnia citizens and the
    citizens of Croatia and Serbia want the same thing. They want to stop
    the slaughter; they want to put an end to the violence and war; they
    want to give their children and their grandchildren a chance to lead a
    normal life. Today, thank God, the voices of those people have been
    heard.
        I want to congratulate America's negotiating team, led by Secretary
    Christopher and Ambassador Holbrooke, for their extraordinary service.
    Their determination, along with that of our European and Russian
    partners, along with NATO's resolve, brought the parties to the
    negotiating table. Then their single-minded pursuit of peace in Dayton
    made today's agreement a possibility and eventually a reality.
        The people of Bosnia, the American people, indeed people throughout
    the world, should be very thankful for this event today. The peace

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    plan agreed to would preserve Bosnia as a single state, within its
    present borders and with international recognition. The state will be
    made up of two parts, the Bosnian Croat Federation and the Bosnian Serb
    Republic, with a fair distribution of land between the two. The capital
    city of Sarajevo will remain united.
        There will be an effective central government, including a national
    parliament, a presidency, and a constitutional court, with
    responsibility for foreign policy, foreign trade, monetary policy,
    citizenship, immigration, and other important functions. The presidency
    and the parliament will be chosen through free democratic elections,
    held under international supervision. Refugees will be allowed to return
    to their homes. People will be able to move freely throughout Bosnia.
    And the human rights of every Bosnian citizen will be monitored by an
    independent commission and an internationally trained civilian police.
    Those individuals charged with war crimes will be excluded from
    political life.
        Now that the parties to the war have made a serious commitment to
    peace, we must help them to make it work. All the parties have asked for
    a strong international force to supervise the separation of forces and
    to give them confidence that each side will live up to their agreements.
    Only NATO can do that job. And the United States as NATO's leader must
    play an essential role in this mission. Without us, the hard-won peace
    would be lost, the war would resume, the slaughter of innocents would
    begin again, and the conflict that already has claimed so many people
    could spread like poison throughout the entire region.
        We are at a decisive moment. The parties have chosen peace. America
    must choose peace as well. Now that a detailed settlement has been
    reached, NATO will rapidly complete its planning for the implementation
    force known as IFOR. The plan soon will be submitted to me for review
    and for approval. As of now, we expect that about one-third of IFOR's
    force will be American. The rest will come from our NATO partners and
    from other nations throughout the world.
        At the same time, once the agreement is signed, the international
    community will initiate a parallel program to provide humanitarian
    relief, to begin the job of rebuilding, to help the thousands of
    refugees return to their homes, to monitor free elections, in short, to
    help the Bosnian people create the conditions of lasting peace.
        The NATO military mission will be clear and limited. Our troops will
    take their orders only from the American general who commands NATO. They
    will have authority to meet any threat to their safety or any violation
    of the peace agreement with immediate and decisive force. And there will
    be a reasonable timetable for their withdrawal.
        I am satisfied that the NATO implementation plan is clear, limited,
    and achievable and that the risks to our troops are minimized. I will
    promptly consult with Congress when I receive this plan, and if I am
    fully satisfied with it when I see it in its final form, I will ask
    Congress to support American participation.
        The central fact for us as Americans is this: Our leadership made
    this peace agreement possible and helped to bring an end to the
    senseless slaughter of so many innocent people that our fellow citizens
    had to watch night after night after night for 4 long years on their
    television screens. Now American leadership, together with our allies,
    is needed to make this peace real and enduring. Our values, our
    interests, and our leadership all over the world are at stake.
        I ask all Americans in this Thanksgiving week to take some time to
    say a simple prayer of thanksgiving that this peace has been reached,
    that our Nation was able to play an important role in stopping the
    suffering and the slaughter.
        May God bless the peace and the United States.
        Q. Mr. President, Congress seems deeply skeptical of sending
    American troops to Bosnia right now. How are you going to turn that
    around, and how soon would American forces have to go into Bosnia?
        The President. Well, first of all, I believe it's important for the
    Congress to have a chance to review this peace agreement and to receive
    the assurances from the leaders of Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia that they
    intend to do everything in their power to make sure the agreement is
    implemented in good faith and with peaceful intent and absolutely
    minimal violence. I think that will be an imperative part of this
    endeavor.
        I will work with the leaders of Congress to establish a schedule for
    implementing that. I have placed calls to the Speaker, the majority
    leader of the Senate, and the minority leaders of the Senate and the
    House shortly before I came out here. I was only able to reach the

    [[Page 1778]]

    Speaker. The others were in transit, but I will speak to them all today.
    And I will work with them to establish a schedule for consultation with
    Congress that will begin as soon as I approve the final NATO plan.
        I have had extensive briefings on this plan. And as I said, I am
    satisfied that based on what we knew at the time I was briefed, we had a
    clear, limited, achievable mission that minimized the risks to not only
    the uniformed forces of the United States but others who would
    participate as well. When I see the final plan, if I remain of that
    opinion, I will immediately consult with Congress and we will have an
    agreed-upon schedule for consultations, which I think will begin
    immediately in terms of the detail of the peace agreement itself. And
    that is the responsibility that I have to bear, and I intend to assume
    it.
        Now, we have assured Congress that there will be no complete
    deployment until they have a chance to be heard on this issue. The only
    things that will be done in the preliminary period, assuming that things
    go forward as we anticipate today and you hear what I think you will
    hear shortly from the three Presidents, is that there will be some
    preliminary planning done in the Bosnia area, which is absolutely
    essential and which we have already fully disclosed to the Congress. But
    beyond that, the Congress will have a period of weeks before the final
    formal signing ceremony, which would trigger the involvement of NATO's
    forces. So that's what I expect will happen.
        Let me say that I know you will have other questions about the
    details of this peace agreement, how it was reached, the number of
    eleventh hours that came and passed. And even last night at midnight,
    when I had my last conversation with Secretary Christopher, we were not
    sure whether there would be peace this morning. When I got up and we
    began to work on this, we were not sure there would be peace. As often
    happens in a process like this, as I think happened in the Middle East,
    something stirred among the leaders themselves and they decided that
    they should not let this moment pass for the benefit of their people.
        So I believe we'll be able to answer all the other questions in the
    days ahead, and the people in Dayton will be able to answer more of your
    questions when they have their press conference. The main thing is, I
    ask all Americans to remember what we have seen and heard and read about
    for the last 4 years and remember what the implications were not only
    for our consciences but for the prospect that that conflict could
    spread.
        The fact that these leaders have voted to bring an end to this and
    to give the people of Bosnia a peaceful Christmas and a peaceful future
    is something for which we should be very, very thankful.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:40 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to President Alija Izetbegovic of
    Bosnia-Herzegovina, President Franjo Tudjman of Croatia, and President
    Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia.