Voice of America, 7 May 1996 (1 of 2)

Voice of America Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Voice of America <gopher://gopher.voa.gov>

CONTENTS

[01] TUESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW N. GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

[02] BOSNIA/OGATA (S) BY DOUGLAS ROBERTS (BANJA LUKA/BOSNIA)

[03] BOSNIA/WAR CRIMES (L ONLY) BY DAVID FOLEY (VISEGRAD)

[04] EUROPE DEFENSE BY ANDRE DE NESNERA (LONDON)

[01] TUESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW N. GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: THE DISCOVERY OF FORMER C-I-A CHIEF WILLIAM COLBY'S BODY HAS PROMPTED A MIXTURE OF EDITORIAL COMMENT IN TODAY'S PAPERS ABOUT THE MAN AND HIS DISTINGUISHED INTELLIGENCE CAREER. OTHER TOPICS DEALT WITH INCLUDE THE BOSNIAN WAR CRIMES TRIALS BEGINNING IN THE NETHERLANDS; U-S FOREIGN POLICY ON CHINA; THE TROUBLED PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF BOB DOLE; THE IMMIGRATION BILL, AND THE HIGH COST OF GASOLINE (PETROL). FOR A CLOSER LOOK AND SOME QUOTES, HERE IS _____________________ WITH TODAY'S EDITORIAL DIGEST.

TEXT: WILLIAM COLBY'S BODY WAS FOUND ON A SANDBAR IN A MARYLAND RIVER NOT FAR FROM WHERE HIS SUBMERGED CANOE WAS DISCOVERED MORE THAN A WEEK AGO. AUTHORITIES SAY HE APPARENTLY DROWNED. THEY FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF FOUL PLAY. MR. COLBY'S INTELLIGENCE CAREER DATED FROM WORLD WAR TWO. HE HEADED THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY BRIEFLY FOLLOWING THE WATERGATE SCANDAL, UNTIL HE WAS REMOVED FROM OFFICE BY PRESIDENT GERALD FORD. HIS PASSING DRAWS THIS COMMENT FROM "THE WASHINGTON POST."

VOICE: "MR. COLBY WAS ... AMBITIOUS AND METHODICAL AND WORKED HIS WAY TO THE TOP IN THE YEARS WHEN THE PREVAILING ETHOS OF NATIONAL SECURITY GAVE THE C-I-A AN ENORMOUS GRANT OF AUTHORITY TO DO WHAT IT FELT WAS NECESSARY TO PROTECT AMERICANS AGAINST A COMMUNIST THREAT... BY THE TIME MR. COLBY BECAME CHIEF OF INTELLIGENCE IN 1973, HOWEVER, THE COLD WAR CERTAINTIES THAT SUPPORTED THE C-I-A'S SECRECY AND AUTONOMY WERE ALREADY FRAYING... MR. COLBY BROKE THE OLD DISCIPLINE AND UNDERTOOK TO COOPERATE WITH CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATORS... IN THE CONTEXT OF THE DAY, MR. COLBY'S DECISION WAS DIVISIVE. BUT IT WAS THE RIGHT DECISION."

TEXT: "THE BALTIMORE SUN" FOCUSES ON WHAT IT CALLS THE LACK OF "SPYCRAFT" IN MR. COLBY'S DEATH, APPARENTLY CAUSED BY ACCIDENTAL DROWNING.

VOICE: "SPY THRILLER FANATICS WILL BE DEPRIVED OF MANY A FANTASY NOW THAT THE BODY OF FORMER C-I-A CHIEF WILLIAM ... COLBY ... HAS BEEN FOUND IN THE ... APPARENTLY THE VICTIM NOT OF FOUL PLAY BUT OF THE FOUL WEATHER THAT CAPSIZED HIS CANOE... VIET CONG VETERANS WILL NOT CLAIM REVENGE; C-I-A ULTRAS WILL NOT FEEL HE GOT HIS COME-UPPANCE; OLD KREMLIN AGENTS WILL NOT BE UNDER SUSPICION."

TEXT: TODAY IN THE HAGUE, THE FIRST BOSNIAN WAR CRIMES TRIAL BEGINS, DRAWING THIS REACTION FROM "THE MIAMI HERALD."

VOICE: "IN MANY RESPECTS THE WAR-CRIMES TRIAL THAT BEGINS TODAY IN THE HAGUE IS SYMBOLIC. THE DEFENDANT, DUSAN TADIC, A BOSNIAN SERB ... IS ACCUSED OF TORTURING AND KILLING AT LEAST 16 BOSNIAN MUSLIMS. THE CRIMES ARE HEINOUS, THE WITNESSES FEARFUL... BUT MR. TADIC IS ALSO 'SMALL POTATOES' [A MINOR FIGURE IN THE OVERALL EVENT]. HE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ORGANIZING CONCENTRATION CAMPS OR THE MASSACRES OF THREE-THOUSAND UNARMED CIVILIANS LAST SUMMER NEAR SREBRENCIA... NOR DID HE COMMAND THE SHELLING OF SARAJEVO. THOSE WHO DID, INCLUDING INDICTED BOSNIAN SERB LEADERS RADOVAN KARADZIC AND RATKO MLADIC, REMAIN AT LARGE."

TEXT: "THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER" UNDERSTANDS THE SKEPTICISM OF TRYING SUCH MINOR BOSNIAN FIGURES WHILE MAJOR SUSPECTS REMAIN FREE -- BUT CONCLUDES:

VOICE: "SO DOES THIS TRIBUNAL SERVE ANY PURPOSE? DESPITE ITS SEVERE LIMITATIONS, THE ANSWER STILL MUST BE 'YES.'... BY COLLECTING DOCUMENTS AND TESTIMONY OF SURVIVORS, AND EXPLORING MASS GRAVE SITES, THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL IS COMPILING A RECORD THAT WILL NOT DIE."

TEXT: "THE NEW YORK TIMES" SUGGESTS:

VOICE: "OF ALL THE ASPECTS OF THE BOSNIAN PEACE, THE PROSECUTION OF WAR CRIMINALS MAY BE THE MOST SENSITIVE AND POLITICALLY CHARGED. [OPT] PRESIDENTS [SLOBODAN] MILOSEVIC AND [FRANJO] TUDJMAN WOULD NO DOUBT LIKE TO AVOID TRIALS OF DEFENDANTS THAT MIGHT EXPOSE SUSPECTED LINKS BETWEEN THEIR OWN MILITARY FORCES AND BOSNIAN ETHNIC MILITIAS. [END OPT] BUT THE DIFFICULTY INHERENT IN HOLDING PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE TERRIBLE CRIMES OF THE BALKAN WAR IS NO REASON TO BRUSH OFF THE JOB."

TEXT: "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES" IS DISAPPOINTED IN THE TRIBUNAL'S PROSPECTS FOR GAINING CONVICTIONS OF MORE IMPORTANT LEADERS, LAMENTING:

VOICE: "THE STANDARDS OF HUMANITARIAN CONDUCT CLEARLY HAVE NOT BEEN MET, EITHER IN THE FIGHTING OR IN THE ATTEMPTED APPLICATION OF THE LAW. THE DEAD AND MAIMED DESERVE MORE."

TEXT: TURNING TO ANOTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS MATTER, "USA TODAY" SAYS FOR THE UNITED STATES TO DENY CHINA MOST-FAVORED-NATION TRADE STATUS, WHICH IS DUE FOR RENEWAL NEXT MONTH, WOULD BE A MISTAKE, FOR SEVERAL REASONS:

VOICE: "U-S CONSUMER PRICES WOULD RISE... THOUSANDS OF U-S EXPORT JOBS WOULD BE THREATENED BY CHINESE RETALIATION... AS CHINESE GOODS WERE PRICED OUT OF THE U-S MARKET, THE IMPACT IN CHINA WOULD BE GREATEST ON ENTREPRENEURS AND WORKERS IN THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES, WHERE FREE-MARKET REFORMS ARE MOST ADVANCED... THE ANSWER TO U-S FRUSTRATION WITH CHINA IS THE LESS SELF-INDULGENT, BUT MORE PRODUCTIVE, WORK OF TOUGH, DAY-BY-DAY DIPLOMACY..."

TEXT: TODAY'S "BOSTON GLOBE" LOOKS AT WHAT IT CONSIDERS A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BOB DOLE -- HOW TO CRITICIZE A PRESIDENT CONSTRUCTIVELY ON FOREIGN POLICY:

VOICE: "... THE CHALLENGER MUST BEWARE THAT HIS CRITICISM OF THE INCUMBENT'S FOREIGN POLICY NOT SEEM, OR BE, IRRESPONSIBLE CARPING... THE DIFFICULTY OF THE CHALLENGER'S POSITION WAS ILLUSTRATED RECENTLY WHEN [SENATOR] DOLE CANCELED A SPEECH HE WAS SCHEDULED TO GIVE ON CHINA POLICY, REPORTEDLY BECAUSE HE COULD NOT DECIDE IN TIME EXACTLY WHAT POSITION HE WANTED TO TAKE. [OPT] ... [MR.] DOLE WOULD NOT BE IRRESPONSIBLE IF HE RAISED CERTAIN CRITICAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DETERIORATION OF RELATIONS WITH CHINA... [END OPT] IN ORDER TO BENEFIT FROM AN AIRING OF DIFFERENCES ON THIS OR ANY OTHER CENTRAL PROBLEM OF NATIONAL SECURITY, HOWEVER, [SENATOR] DOLE WOULD HAVE TO DEFINE CLEARLY HIS OWN POSITION."

TEXT: EDITORIAL WRITERS CONTINUE TO COMMENT ON THE IMMIGRATION BILL PASSED LAST WEEK BY THE SENATE. TODAY'S "NEW YORK TIMES" SUMS UP ITS RESPONSE THIS WAY:

VOICE: "IMMIGRANTS HAVE HISTORICALLY ENRICHED AMERICA AND STILL DO SO TODAY, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY BRING ENTREPRENEURIAL ENERGIES AND VALUABLE TECHNICAL SKILLS. THE UNITED STATES IS ALSO A BETTER COUNTRY FOR ADMITTING THOSE WHO FLEE PERSECUTION ABROAD. STILL, THOSE PEOPLE WHOM IMMIGRATION LAW EXCLUDES SHOULD BE KEPT OUT AS EFFECTIVELY AS POSSIBLE. THE SENATE HAS COME UP WITH A BILL THAT CAN HELP DO THAT. THE HOUSE SHOULD ... GO ALONG."

TEXT: AND FINALLY, A LAMENT FROM "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES"ON THE IDEA OF REDUCING THE FEDERAL TAX ON GASOLINE TO LOWER PRICES, DESPITE THE GROWING FEDERAL BUDGET DEFICIT,

VOICE: "CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICAN LEADERS PLAN TO EXPLAIN AS EARLY AS TODAY HOW THEY WOULD OFFSET THE WHOPPING REVENUE LOSSES THAT WOULD RESULT IF THEY SUCCEED IN REPEALING THE GASOLINE SURCHARGE OF FOUR-POINT-THREE CENTS A GALLON ENACTED IN 1993... ONLY IN AN ELECTION YEAR WOULD ANYBODY SERIOUSLY SUGGEST A GASOLINE SURCHARGE REPEAL AS A WAY TO OFFSET HIGHER PUMP PRICES."

TEXT: AND ON THAT BIT OF ECONOMIC PHILOSOPHY, TINGED WITH POLITICAL REALITIES, WE CONCLUDE THIS BRIEF SAMPLING OF SOME OF THE DAY'S EDITORIALS FROM THE U-S PRESS.
NEB/ANG/PCH
07-May-96 11:04 AM EDT (1504 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

[02] BOSNIA/OGATA (S) BY DOUGLAS ROBERTS (BANJA LUKA/BOSNIA)

INTRO: BOSNIA'S RIVAL FACTIONS HAVE FORMALLY REAFFIRMED THEIR COMMITMENT TO FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT IN THE COUNTRY, ONE OF KEY PRINCIPLES OF DAYTON PEACE AGREEMENT. AT THE URGING OF THE U-N HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES, SADAKO OGATA, SENIOR SERB, MUSLIM, AND CROAT OFFICIALS HAVE AGREED TO ASSIST REFUGEES WHO WANT TO VISIT THEIR HOMES ACROSS THE FORMER CONFRONTATION LINES. DOUGLAS ROBERTS REPORTS MRS. OGATA MET SERB LEADERS IN BANJA LUKA TUESDAY DURING HER SIX-DAY TOUR OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA.

TEXT: THE AGREEMENT COMES AFTER TENSE AND SOMETIMES VIOLENT CONFRONTATIONS INVOLVING SMALL GROUPS OF REFUGEES ATTEMPTING TO VISIT THEIR FORMER HOMES.

LATE LAST MONTH TWO MUSLIMS WERE SHOT DEAD IN A FACE-OFF WITH ANGRY SERB CIVILIANS DETERMINED TO PREVENT THE REFUGEES FROM TRAVELING TO THE NORTHERN TOWN OF DUBOJ. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY SIMILAR INCIDENTS INVOLVING REFUGEES FROM ALL THREE OF BOSNIA'S ETHNIC GROUPS.

U-N OFFICIALS SAY NINE OUT OF 10 PLANNED VISITS HAVE BEEN BLOCKED. BUT SENIOR OFFICIALS FROM ALL SIDES HAVE NOW SIGNED A JOINT STATEMENT TO PROMOTE AND ASSIST THE REFUGEE VISITS. THEY HAVE ALSO ACCEPTED A SET OF GUIDELINES SUBMITTED BY THE UNITED NATIONS.

U-N OFFICIALS WILL COORDINATE AND ACCOMPANY EACH OF THE REFUGEE VISITS AND THE NATO PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN BOSNIA WILL BE ADVISED OF THE DETAILS.

AFTER HER TALKS TUESDAY IN BANJA LUKA, MRS. OGATA ANNOUNCED THE UNITED NATIONS WILL ALSO HELP ORGANIZE REGULAR BUS SERVICE ACROSS WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE INTER-ENTITY BOUNDARY LINE, LINKING TOWNS AND CITIES IN THE SERB SECTOR WITH THOSE IN THE MUSLIM/CROAT FEDERATION. (SIGNED)
NEB/DR/MH/RAE
07-May-96 8:31 AM EDT (1231 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

[03] BOSNIA/WAR CRIMES (L ONLY) BY DAVID FOLEY (VISEGRAD)

INTRO: IN BOSNIA, THE COMMANDER OF NATO GROUND FORCES SAYS THERE CONTINUES TO BE STRONG SUPPORT FOR THE BOSNIAN SERB LEADERS AND INDICTED WAR CRIMINALS, RADOVAN KARADZIC AND GENERAL RATKO MLADIC. DAVID FOLEY REPORTS FROM THE NATO HEADQUARTERS AT VISEGRAD (PHONETIC: "VISHAGRAD"), IN SERB-CONTROLLED EASTERN BOSNIA.

TEXT: ONLY A FEW KILOMETERS FROM THE SERBIAN BORDER, VISEGRAD IS A TOWN FAMOUS AROUND THE WORLD AS THE SITE OF THE CLASSIC NOVEL, "BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER DRINA." TODAY, ON THE CENTURIES OLD BRIDGE, CHILDREN PLAY AND A FEW PEOPLE POSE FOR PHOTOGRAPHS NEXT TO THE MONUMENT WHICH MARKS THE CENTER OF THE BRIDGE AND SYMBOLIZES THE JOINING OF TWO CULTURES. NOW THE MONUMENT'S GRACEFUL ARABIC SCRIPT IS DEFACED BY NATIONALIST GRAFFITI, WHICH IS PERHAPS MORE FITTING BECAUSE THIS WAS THE SITE OF SOME OF THE WORST WAR CRIMES COMMITTED DURING THE WAR IN BOSNIA.

A NATO OFFICER HERE SAYS LOCAL SERB COMMANDERS HAVE PRIVATELY CONFIRMED THAT IN 1992, ABOUT TWO THOUSAND MUSLIMS -- INCLUDING MANY WOMEN AND CHILDREN -- WERE KILLED IN THE CENTER OF THIS BRIDGE, AND THEIR BODIES THROWN INTO THE RUSHING GREEN WATERS OF THE DRINA BELOW. THIS FIGURE MATCHES ESTIMATES FROM THE BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT, WHICH RECOVERED SOME OF THE BODIES DOWNSTREAM.

THIS WEEK NATO HAS TEMPORARILY MOVED ITS MOBILE TACTICAL HEADQUARTERS TO VISEGRAD, IN AN EFFORT TO RAISE THE PROFILE OF NATO IN THIS BOSNIAN SERB AREA. THE COMMANDER OF NATO GROUND FORCES IN BOSNIA, LIEUTENANT GENERAL MICHAEL WALKER, SAYS THE BOSNIAN SERBS HAVE MADE NO MENTION OF THE WAR CRIMES TRIAL THAT IS BEGINNING IN THE HAGUE. HE DOES SAY THOUGH, HE HAS FOUND STRONG SUPPORT FOR RADOVAN KARADZIC AND RATKO MLADIC AMONG THE LOCAL SERB CIVILIAN AND MILITARY OFFICIALS HE HAS SPOKEN TO ACROSS SERB-CONTROLLED BOSNIA.

THE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP UNDER WHICH THEY ARE NOW CONDUCTING THEIR LIVES HAVE, INDEED, PRODUCED FOR THEM THEIR PART OF THIS COUNTRY KNOWN AS REPUBLIKA SRPSKA -- AND THERE IS HUGE SUPPORT, I HAVE NO DOUBT, FOR BOTH THOSE CHARACTERS.

GENERAL WALKER SAYS GROWING INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC AND POLITICAL PRESSURE TO SEEK ARADZIC AND MLADIC FOR QUESTIONING AT THE HAGUE DOES NOT MEAN NATO WILL BE TOLD TO CAPTURE THE TWO MEN, AND HE SAYS IT IS UP TO THE PARTIES WHO SIGNED THE DAYTON AGREEMENT TO LIVE UP TO ITS DEMANDS. HE SAYS NATO IS NOW FOCUSED ON IMPROVING FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT FOR REFUGEES WHO WISH TO CROSS ETHNIC LINES.

WE ARE DETERMINED TO BE ROBUST. WE ARE DETERMINED TO SUPPORT CAMPAIGNS TO RID THE COUNTRY OF THE LEGACY OF WARTIME ROADBLOCKS, OF THUGS DEMANDING MONEY FOR PEOPLE WHO WISH TO TRAVEL, AND OF MINES AND OTHER PHYSICAL OBSTACLES THAT MAY BE PUT IN THE ROAD.

DESPITE THIS GOAL, THE MUSLIMS OF VISEGRAD WILL NOT BE RETURNING. THE FEW WHO WERE ABLE TO ESCAPE WHEN THE WAR BEGAN, HAVE LITTLE NEED TO RETURN TO CHECK ON THE CONDITION OF THEIR FORMER HOMES. UNTOUCHED BY THE WAR, VISEGRAD DOES HOWEVER BEAR THE SCARS OF ETHNIC CLEANSING. DOTTED AROUND THE TOWN ARE THE REMAINS OF FORMER MUSLIM HOMES WHICH THE SERBS DYNAMITED TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT FOR THE MUSLIMS TO RETURN TO. (SIGNED)
NEB/DF/MH/MMK
07-May-96 12:06 PM EDT (1606 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

[04] EUROPE DEFENSE BY ANDRE DE NESNERA (LONDON)

INTRO: FOREIGN AND DEFENSE MINISTERS FROM MORE THAN 25 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES MEMBERS OF THE ORGANIZATION KNOWN AS THE WESTERN EUROPEAN UNION (WEU) ARE MEETING IN BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND. V-O-A CORRESPONDENT ANDRE DE NESNERA REPORTS FROM LONDON THE W-E-U IS TRYING TO FIND A SPECIFIC ROLE FOR ITSELF IN A WORLD INCREASINGLY DOMINATED BY NATO.

TEXT: THE WESTERN EUROPEAN UNION -- OR W-E-U -- WAS CREATED MORE THAN 40 YEARS AGO TO PROVIDE EUROPE WITH A SORT OF DEFENSE STRUCTURE FOLLOWING THE END OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. FOR MANY YEARS THE ORGANIZATION REMAINED DORMANT UNTIL IN THE EARLY 1980'S FRENCH PRESIDENT FRANCOIS MITTERRAND DECIDED IT WOULD BE A PERFECT VEHICLE FOR HIS IDEA OF A DEFENSE WING FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION.

SINCE THAT TIME, THE W-E-U COUNTRIES HAVE BEEN DEBATING WHETHER THE WESTERN EUROPEAN UNION SHOULD MERGE WITH THE E-U AND BECOME ITS MILITARY WING.

MANY EXPERTS BELIEVE THAT IS TOTALLY UNREALISTIC BECAUSE THE W-E-U HAS NO TROOPS, NO LOGISTICAL CAPABILITIES, NO CAPACITY FOR SURVEILLANCE AND NO INTELLIGENCE-GATHERING FACILITIES. DEFENSE EXPERTS SAY THE W-E-U HAS "NO BITE" AND IT IS ESSENTIALLY A POLITICAL UNION EXISTING ONLY ON PAPER.

THE DIRECTOR OF THE LONDON-BASED INSTITUTE FOR EUROPEAN DEFENSE AND STRATEGIC STUDIES -- ANDREW MCHALLAM -- SAYS THE W-E-U IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR NATO, AS SOME EUROPEAN POLITICIANS WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT BECOME.

AS WE SAW IN YUGOSLAVIA, THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN NATO INTERVENED: U-S NAVAL UNITS WERE NEEDED, U-S AIR FORCE UNITS WERE NEEDED, THE U-S LOGISTICAL CAPABILITY HAD TO BE BROUGHT INTO EFFECT BEFORE EUROPEAN TROOPS COULD BE MOVED INTO THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA. SO IT WILL NOT BE ABLE TO OPERATE INDEPENDENTLY. IT IS A POLITICAL CONCEPT RATHER THAN A MILITARY ONE.

AS TALK OF A MERGER BETWEEN THE WESTERN EUROPEAN UNION AND THE E-U CONTINUES, MANY EUROPEAN OFFICIALS -- ESPECIALLY FROM FRANCE AND GERMANY -- ARE DISCUSSING WAYS TO CREATE THE MILITARY INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN THE W-E-U. BUT MR. MCHALLAM SAYS THIS IS FOLLY.

WHY DUPLICATE EQUIPMENT AND DEFENSE PROGRAMS WHICH ALREADY EXIST THROUGH NATO AT A TIME WHEN EVERY EUROPEAN COUNTRY INCLUDING FRANCE, INCLUDING GERMANY, INCLUDING BRITAIN IS CUTTING BACK ON DEFENSE. IT SEEMS MADNESS TO ME TO DUPLICATE DEFENSE CAPABILITY WHEN YOU WANT TO ECONOMIZE ON YOUR DEFENSE SPENDING.

OTHER COUNTRIES -- LED BY BRITAIN -- OPPOSE TRANSFORMING THE W-E-U INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION'S DEFENSE WING. THEY SAY, INSTEAD, THE W-E-U MUST DEVELOP THE CAPABILITY TO MOUNT PEACEKEEPING, HUMANITARIAN AND RESCUE OPERATIONS. MR. MCHALLAM SAYS IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE W-E-U TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.

IN ABSOLUTE FAIRNESS, IT IS NOW TIME FOR EUROPEAN COUNTRIES TO TALK ABOUT CONDUCTING SOME SUCH OPERATIONS, PARTICULARLY THOSE THAT ARE PERHAPS IN PARTS OF EUROPE AND PERHAPS PARTS OF AFRICA AS WELL, WITHOUT NECESSARILY BEING DEPENDENT ON THE UNITED STATES. WE CANNOT EXPECT THE UNITED STATES, WHICH HAS ITS OWN SPENDING PRIORITIES NOW AND ITS OWN POLITICAL PRIORITIES, TO BE ALWAYS ON HAND, TO PROP US UP, EVEN WHEN WE WANT TO INTERVENE IN SOMEWHERE THAT IS AS CLOSE TO MOST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AS THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA.

MR. MCHALLAM SAYS EUROPEAN COUNTRIES MUST SHOW A DEGREE OF SELF-RELIANCE AND THE PEACEKEEPING AND HUMANITARIAN ROLES FOR THE W-E-U WOULD GIVE THEM JUST THAT. AS TO REPLACING NATO WITH THE W-E-U, MR. MCHALLAM SAYS THAT IS PURE FANTASY. (SIGNED)
NEB/ADEN/CF
07-May-96 10:31 AM EDT (1431 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

Voice of America Directory - Previous Article - Next Article