[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
[November 27, 1995]
[Pages 1784-1787]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1784]]


Address to the Nation on Implementation of the Peace Agreement in 
Bosnia-Herzegovina
November 27, 1995

    Good evening. Last week, the warring factions in Bosnia reached a 
peace agreement as a result of our efforts in Dayton, Ohio, and the 
support of our European and Russian partners. Tonight I want to speak 
with you about implementing the Bosnian peace agreement and why our 
values and interests as Americans require that we participate.
    Let me say at the outset, America's role will not be about fighting 
a war. It will be about helping the people of Bosnia to secure their own 
peace agreement. Our mission will be limited, focused, and under the 
command of an American general. In fulfilling this mission, we will have 
the chance to help stop the killing of innocent civilians, especially 
children, and at the same time, to bring stability to Central Europe, a 
region of the world that is vital to our national interests. It is the 
right thing to do.
    From our birth, America has always been more than just a place. 
America has embodied an idea that has become the ideal for billions of 
people throughout the world. Our Founders said it best: America is about 
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In this century especially, 
America has done more than simply stand for these ideals. We have acted 
on them and sacrificed for them. Our people fought two World Wars so 
that freedom could triumph over tyranny. After World War I, we pulled 
back from the world, leaving a vacuum that was filled by the forces of 
hatred. After World War II, we continued to lead the world. We made the 
commitments that kept the peace, that helped to spread democracy, that 
created unparalleled prosperity, and that brought victory in the cold 
war.
    Today, because of our dedication, America's ideals--liberty, 
democracy, and peace--are more and more the aspirations of people 
everywhere in the world. It is the power of our ideas, even more than 
our size, our wealth, and our military might, that makes America a 
uniquely trusted nation.
    With the cold war over, some people now question the need for our 
continued active leadership in the world. They believe that, much like 
after World War I, America can now step back from the responsibilities 
of leadership. They argue that to be secure we need only to keep our own 
borders safe and that the time has come now to leave to others the hard 
work of leadership beyond our borders. I strongly disagree.
    As the cold war gives way to the global village, our leadership is 
needed more than ever because problems that start beyond our borders can 
quickly become problems within them. We're all vulnerable to the 
organized forces of intolerance and destruction; terrorism; ethnic, 
religious, and regional rivalries; the spread of organized crime and 
weapons of mass destruction and drug trafficking. Just as surely as 
fascism and communism, these forces also threaten freedom and democracy, 
peace and prosperity. And they, too, demand American leadership.
    But nowhere has the argument for our leadership been more clearly 
justified than in the struggle to stop or prevent war and civil 
violence. From Iraq to Haiti, from South Africa to Korea, from the 
Middle East to Northern Ireland, we have stood up for peace and freedom 
because it's in our interest to do so and because it is the right thing 
to do.
    Now, that doesn't mean we can solve every problem. My duty as 
President is to match the demands for American leadership to our 
strategic interest and to our ability to make a difference. America 
cannot and must not be the world's policeman. We cannot stop all war for 
all time, but we can stop some wars. We cannot save all women and all 
children, but we can save many of them. We can't do everything, but we 
must do what we can.
    There are times and places where our leadership can mean the 
difference between peace and war, and where we can defend our 
fundamental values as a people and serve our most basic, strategic 
interests. My fellow Americans, in this new era there are still times 
when America and America alone can and should make the difference for 
peace.
    The terrible war in Bosnia is such a case. Nowhere today is the need 
for American leadership more stark or more immediate than in Bosnia. For 
nearly 4 years a terrible war has

[[Page 1785]]

torn Bosnia apart. Horrors we prayed had been banished from Europe 
forever have been seared into our minds again: skeletal prisoners caged 
behind barbed-wire fences; women and girls raped as a tool of war; 
defenseless men and boys shot down into mass graves, evoking visions of 
World War II concentration camps; and endless lines of refugees marching 
toward a future of despair.
    When I took office, some were urging immediate intervention in the 
conflict. I decided that American ground troops should not fight a war 
in Bosnia because the United States could not force peace on Bosnia's 
warring ethnic groups, the Serbs, Croats, and Muslims. Instead, America 
has worked with our European allies in searching for peace, stopping the 
war from spreading, and easing the suffering of the Bosnian people.
    We imposed tough economic sanctions on Serbia. We used our airpower 
to conduct the longest humanitarian airlift in history and to enforce a 
no-fly zone that took the war out of the skies. We helped to make peace 
between two of the three warring parties, the Muslims and the Croats. 
But as the months of war turned into years, it became clear that Europe 
alone could not end the conflict.
    This summer, Bosnian Serb shelling once again turned Bosnia's 
playgrounds and marketplaces into killing fields. In response, the 
United States led NATO's heavy and continuous air strikes, many of them 
flown by skilled and brave American pilots. Those air strikes, together 
with the renewed determination of our European partners and the Bosnian 
and Croat gains on the battlefield, convinced the Serbs, finally, to 
start thinking about making peace.
    At the same time, the United States initiated an intensive 
diplomatic effort that forged a Bosnia-wide cease-fire and got the 
parties to agree to the basic principles of peace. Three dedicated 
American diplomats, Bob Frasure, Joe Kruzel, and Nelson Drew, lost their 
lives in that effort. Tonight we remember their sacrifice and that of 
their families. And we will never forget their exceptional service to 
our Nation.
    Finally, just 3 weeks ago, the Muslims, Croats, and Serbs came to 
Dayton, Ohio, in America's heartland, to negotiate a settlement. There, 
exhausted by war, they made a commitment to peace. They agreed to put 
down their guns, to preserve Bosnia as a single state, to investigate 
and prosecute war criminals, to protect the human rights of all 
citizens, to try to build a peaceful, democratic future. And they asked 
for America's help as they implement this peace agreement.
    America has a responsibility to answer that request, to help to turn 
this moment of hope into an enduring reality. To do that, troops from 
our country and around the world would go into Bosnia to give them the 
confidence and support they need to implement their peace plan. I refuse 
to send American troops to fight a war in Bosnia, but I believe we must 
help to secure the Bosnian peace.
    I want you to know tonight what is at stake, exactly what our troops 
will be asked to accomplish, and why we must carry out our 
responsibility to help implement the peace agreement. Implementing the 
agreement in Bosnia can end the terrible suffering of the people, the 
warfare, the mass executions, the ethnic cleansing, the campaigns of 
rape and terror. Let us never forget a quarter of a million men, women, 
and children have been shelled, shot, and tortured to death. Two million 
people, half of the population, were forced from their homes and into a 
miserable life as refugees. And these faceless numbers hide millions of 
real personal tragedies, for each of the war's victims was a mother or 
daughter, a father or son, a brother or sister.
    Now the war is over. American leadership created the chance to build 
a peace and stop the suffering. Securing peace in Bosnia will also help 
to build a free and stable Europe. Bosnia lies at the very heart of 
Europe, next-door to many of its fragile new democracies and some of our 
closest allies. Generations of Americans have understood that Europe's 
freedom and Europe's stability is vital to our own national security. 
That's why we fought two wars in Europe. That's why we launched the 
Marshall plan to restore Europe. That's why we created NATO and waged 
the cold war. And that's why we must help the nations of Europe to end 
their worst nightmare since World War II, now.
    The only force capable of getting this job done is NATO, the 
powerful military alliance of democracies that has guaranteed our 
security for half a century now. And as NATO's leader and the primary 
broker of the peace agreement, the United States must be an essential 
part of the mission. If we're not there, NATO will not be there; the 
peace will collapse; the war will reignite; the slaughter of innocents 
will begin again. A conflict that already has claimed so

[[Page 1786]]

many victims could spread like poison throughout the region, eat away at 
Europe's stability, and erode our partnership with our European allies.
    And America's commitment to leadership will be questioned if we 
refuse to participate in implementing a peace agreement we brokered 
right here in the United States, especially since the Presidents of 
Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia all asked us to participate and all pledged 
their best efforts to the security of our troops.
    When America's partnerships are weak and our leadership is in doubt, 
it undermines our ability to secure our interests and to convince others 
to work with us. If we do maintain our partnerships and our leadership, 
we need not act alone. As we saw in the Gulf war and in Haiti, many 
other nations who share our goals will also share our burdens. But when 
America does not lead, the consequences can be very grave, not only for 
others but eventually for us as well.
    As I speak to you, NATO is completing its planning for IFOR, an 
international force for peace in Bosnia of about 60,000 troops. Already 
more than 25 other nations, including our major NATO allies, have 
pledged to take part. They will contribute about two-thirds of the total 
implementation force, some 40,000 troops. The United States would 
contribute the rest, about 20,000 soldiers.
    Later this week, the final NATO plan will be submitted to me for 
review and approval. Let me make clear what I expect it to include and 
what it must include for me to give final approval to the participation 
of our Armed Forces.
    First, the mission will be precisely defined with clear, realistic 
goals that can be achieved in a definite period of time. Our troops will 
make sure that each side withdraws its forces behind the frontlines and 
keeps them there. They will maintain the cease-fire to prevent the war 
from accidentally starting again. These efforts, in turn, will help to 
create a secure environment so that the people of Bosnia can return to 
their homes, vote in free elections, and begin to rebuild their lives. 
Our Joint Chiefs of Staff have concluded that this mission should and 
will take about one year.
    Second, the risks to our troops will be minimized. American troops 
will take their orders from the American general who commands NATO. They 
will be heavily armed and thoroughly trained. By making an overwhelming 
show of force, they will lessen the need to use force. But unlike the 
U.N. forces, they will have the authority to respond immediately and the 
training and the equipment to respond with overwhelming force to any 
threat to their own safety or any violations of the military provisions 
of the peace agreement.
    If the NATO plan meets with my approval, I will immediately send it 
to Congress and request its support. I will also authorize the 
participation of a small number of American troops in a NATO advance 
mission that will lay the groundwork for IFOR, starting sometime next 
week. They will establish headquarters and set up the sophisticated 
communication systems that must be in place before NATO can send in its 
troops, tanks, and trucks to Bosnia.
    The Implementation Force itself would begin deploying in Bosnia in 
the days following the formal signature of the peace agreement in mid-
December. The international community will help to implement arms 
control provisions of the agreement so that future hostilities are less 
likely and armaments are limited, while the world community, the United 
States and others, will also make sure that the Bosnian Federation has 
the means to defend itself once IFOR withdraws. IFOR will not be a part 
of this effort.
    Civilian agencies from around the world will begin a separate 
program of humanitarian relief and reconstruction, principally paid for 
by our European allies and other interested countries. This effort is 
also absolutely essential to making the peace endure. It will bring the 
people of Bosnia the food, shelter, clothing, and medicine so many have 
been denied for so long. It will help them to rebuild, to rebuild their 
roads and schools, their power plants and hospitals, their factories and 
shops. It will reunite children with their parents and families with 
their homes. It will allow the Bosnians freely to choose their own 
leaders. It will give all the people of Bosnia a much greater stake in 
peace than war, so that peace takes on a life and a logic of its own.
    In Bosnia we can and will succeed because our mission is clear and 
limited and our troops are strong and very well-prepared. But my fellow 
Americans, no deployment of American troops is risk-free, and this one 
may well involve casualties. There may be accidents in the field or 
incidents with people who have not given up their hatred. I will take 
every measure pos-


[[Page 1787]]

sible to minimize these risks, but we must be prepared for that 
possibility.
    As President, my most difficult duty is to put the men and women who 
volunteer to serve our Nation in harm's way when our interests and 
values demand it. I assume full responsibility for any harm that may 
come to them. But anyone contemplating any action that would endanger 
our troops should know this: America protects its own. Anyone, anyone, 
who takes on our troops will suffer the consequences. We will fight fire 
with fire and then some.
    After so much bloodshed and loss, after so many outrageous acts of 
inhuman brutality, it will take an extraordinary effort of will for the 
people of Bosnia to pull themselves from their past and start building a 
future of peace. But with our leadership and the commitment of our 
allies, the people of Bosnia can have the chance to decide their future 
in peace. They have a chance to remind the world that just a few short 
years ago the mosques and churches of Sarajevo were a shining symbol of 
multiethnic tolerance, that Bosnia once found unity in its diversity. 
Indeed, the cemetery in the center of the city was just a few short 
years ago a magnificent stadium which hosted the Olympics, our universal 
symbol of peace and harmony. Bosnia can be that kind of place again. We 
must not turn our backs on Bosnia now.
    And so I ask all Americans and I ask every Member of Congress, 
Democrat and Republican alike, to make the choice for peace. In the 
choice between peace and war, America must choose peace.
    My fellow Americans, I ask you to think just for a moment about this 
century that is drawing to close and the new one that will soon begin. 
Because previous generations of Americans stood up for freedom and 
because we continue to do so, the American people are more secure and 
more prosperous. And all around the world, more people than ever before 
live in freedom. More people than ever before are treated with dignity. 
More people than ever before can hope to build a better life. That is 
what America's leadership is all about.
    We know that these are the blessings of freedom. And America has 
always been freedom's greatest champion. If we continue to do everything 
we can to share these blessings with people around the world, if we 
continue to be leaders for peace, then the next century can be the 
greatest time our Nation has ever known.
    A few weeks ago, I was privileged to spend some time with His 
Holiness Pope John Paul II, when he came to America. At the very end of 
our meeting, the Pope looked at me and said, ``I have lived through most 
of this century. I remember that it began with a war in Sarajevo. Mr. 
President, you must not let it end with a war in Sarajevo.''
    In Bosnia, this terrible war has challenged our interests and 
troubled our souls. Thankfully, we can do something about it. I say 
again, our mission will be clear, limited, and achievable. The people of 
Bosnia, our NATO allies, and people all around the world are now looking 
to America for leadership. So let us lead. That is our responsibility as 
Americans.
    Good night, and God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 8 p.m. from the Oval Office at the White 
House.