    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [January 13, 1996]
    [Pages 62-63]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With President
    Alija Izetbegovic of Bosnia-Herzegovina at Tuzla Airfield
    January 13, 1996

    President's Visit

        Q. Mr. Izetbegovic, can you tell us what it means for the President
    of the United States to be here in Bosnia?
        President Izetbegovic. In President Clinton we see a great friend to
    Bosnia-Herzegovina. We wish him here a warm welcome. And of course, we
    see the opportunity that we have discussions on several important
    issues, issues relating to IFOR forces and especially the United States
    of America in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
        Q. Mr. President, was it worth all the effort to make the logistical
    nightmare of making this visit?
        President Clinton. Absolutely. First of all, the most important
    thing for me was to come and see our troops and to tell them that I
    support them, the American people support them, and we appreciate what
    they're doing here, and to get a briefing about what's going well and
    what still needs work.
        And the opportunity to meet with President Izetbegovic and the other
    members of his government I think is quite important because we still
    have a lot of work to do. And quite over and above the IFOR obligation,
    we've got a lot of work to do to rebuild Bosnia economically. And I want
    to do what I can to aid that.
        And of course, I've got Mr. Bob Gallucci, one of our most able
    diplomats; he helped to unravel our problem, our North Korea problem. So
    I figured if he did that, he could certainly figure out how we're going
    to help Bosnia get

    [[Page 63]]

    back on its feet, going in the direction that we ought to be going.
        So we've got a lot to talk about, and I'm looking forward to it.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:55 p.m. in the Old Command Post. In his
    remarks, he referred to Ambassador at Large Robert Gallucci. A tape was
    not available for verification of the content of this exchange.