[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
[December 19, 1997]
[Pages 1811-1812]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 1811]]


Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on the Deployment of Military 
Forces for Stabilization of Areas of the Former Yugoslavia
December 19, 1997

Dear Mr. Speaker:  (Dear Mr. President:)
    In my report to the Congress of June 20, 1997, 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 2 years. It remains in the U.S. 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 they 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 has provided support, within its capabilities, to civilian 
organizations implementing the Dayton Peace Agreement.
    During its mission. SFOR has successfully deterred the resumption of 
hostilities by patrolling the Zone of Separation, inspecting and 
monitoring heavy weapons cantonment sites, and providing support to 
civilian agencies. The SFOR has made significant achievements in 
demining, as well as major progress in efforts to restore road, rail, 
and air transportation links within Bosnia and Herzegovina. The SFOR has 
contributed to efforts to bring persons indicted for war crimes into 
custody in The Hague. The SFOR's support to civilian peace 
implementation tasks has been significant.
    United States force contribution to SFOR in Bosnia remains 
approximately 8,500. United States forces participating in SFOR are U.S. 
Army forces that were stationed in Germany and the United States. Other 
participating U.S. forces include special operations forces, airfield 
operations support forces, air forces, and reserve component personnel. 
An amphibious force is normally in strategic reserve in the 
Mediterranean Sea, and a carrier battle group remains available to 
provide support for air operations.
    All NATO nations and 20 others, including Russia and Ukraine, 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 3,000 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 June 1997, U.S. forces have 
sustained a total of three fatalities, none of which was combat-related.
    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 helicopters are also deployed to provide 
support to U.S. forces and UNPREDEP as required. Most of the 
approximately 350 U.S. soldiers participating in these missions are 
assigned to the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry, 1st Armored Division. The 
U.N. Security Council voted December 4, 1997, to authorize a final 
extension of the UNPREDEP mandate through August 31,

[[Page 1812]]

1998, at which time UNPREDEP will be terminated.
    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 (UNTAE). 
These personnel are expected to be redeployed when UNTAES's mandate 
expires on January 15, 1998, and a follow-on U.N. civilian police 
operation continues in the region.
    In order to continue the progress we have seen in the last 6 months 
and to create conditions for a self-sustaining peace, yesterday I 
announced that the United States would in principal take part in a 
security prescence in Bosnia when SFOR withdraws this summer.
    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

Note: Identical letters were sent to Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House 
of Representatives, and Strom Thurmond, President pro tempore of the 
Senate.