U.S. Department of State 96/01/24 Daily Press Briefing

From: hristu@arcadia.harvard.edu (Dimitrios Hristu)

U.S. State Department Directory

Subject: U.S. Department of State 96/01/24 Daily Press Briefing

Office of the Spokesman

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FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

State of Alert for U.S. Troops.................15,16,19

Departure of Foreign Forces/Prisoner Exchange..16-17,19

Training/Equipment.............................18-19

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MR. BURNS: Let's move to Bosnia and then we'll move back to Asia. How about that?

Q Do you have any response to the Chris Hedges article this morning saying that U.S. troops have gone n heightened alert because of the sentencing of the Sheik in New York?

Also, do you have anything more on the movement of mujehedin and other foreign troops out of Bosnia?

MR. BURNS: That story, I think, provoked a response from Secretary Perry this morning. He was on the record. He spoke to the press. I think his comments stand on their own. He said there is a heightened state of security because of some threats to our troops in the area. And -- yes?

Q I'm sorry.

MR. BURNS: No, please.

Q That's not exactly what he said. What he said was that there is no heightened state of alert. He said the "state of alert is always high."

MR. BURNS: Well, we're quibbling over words here. But in any case, the United States is aware of possible threats to our forces, and the Secretary of Defense has spoken to that. If you prefer his words to mine, I suggest you take his because he's the Secretary of Defense and I'm not.

Q But there is a difference here, Nick. You're saying there now exists a new state of alert. What he's saying is, no, there has always been this high state of alert and there's not some extra threat now.

MR. BURNS: I think we should let Secretary Perry's words speak for themselves. I'm not trying to confuse you here, Sid. There's no hidden meaning in my statement. Secretary Perry spoke to this, and let's let him speak for the U.S. Government on this issue. He's the Cabinet officer in charge on the security issues.

Q Do you have anything more on the expulsion of foreign forces, not only the mujehedin but also Russian forces that were in there as mercenaries?

Q And Americans, too.

MR. BURNS: Secretary Christopher called President Izetbegovic yesterday and specifically raised the very great concern that the United States has that all aspects of the Dayton Accords will be adhered to.

They talked about prisoner exchange. We are hopeful that as a result of Secretary Christopher's conversation with President Izetbegovic, there will be a complete release of prisoners -- Serb prisoners -- by the Bosnian Government and any other prisoners being held by the Bosnian Government and that that will be reciprocated by all the parties in the area.

On the issue of the mujehedin we've made clear time and again to the Bosnian Government this is a bottom-line issue for us. All foreign fighters have to leave -- whatever nationality, whatever ideological stripe, whatever their cause may be, they must leave. Adherence to the Dayton provisions is a condition for the provision of American assistance to Bosnia, specifically on equipping and training the Bosnian military forces after the six-month period is over.

Q Do you have a problem, too, on the lines where the forces are supposed to fall back to? Is there a new squabble that (inaudible) CBS --

MR. BURNS: Barry, we're relying on General Joulwan and General Nash and Admiral Smith who say that the zone of separation has been created; that there are no major problems. I think there's been some heavy weaponry left behind by all sides and that that weaponry will be destroyed if it's not released, according to the Pentagon.

Q CBS was reporting at noon that there has been no improvement on the prisoner exchange.

MR. BURNS: There has been no improvement?

Q The release isn't going forward. And also there's now a flap over the lines of the forces?

MR. BURNS: I did not see the report about the lines of the forces.

On the first issue, we are hopeful that there will be action imminent from the Bosnian Government.

Q (Inaudible) released in the 24 hours since Shattuck took it up with -- at least, 24 hours?

MR. BURNS: I don't know. There have been a trickle of people being released. There's been a trickle since the 19th of January. We would like the gates to be opened.

Q (Inaudible) that was mentioned for the release of these persons?

MR. BURNS: The deadline was Friday, January 19. They have not met the deadline. That's why we're displeased with the Bosnian Government and that's why we think the Bosnian Government should act expeditiously.

Q There's no sort of follow-on deadline that was called for?

MR. BURNS: I think Secretary Christopher made an important statement the other night which he and others have reaffirmed, and that is that if the Bosnian Government does not meet these commitments, it will not be possible for the United States to go forward with some of the assistance that the Bosnian Government is counting on.

Q When does it become -- when do these things not happen? When do things start not following on?

MR. BURNS: The equip and train cannot begin until six months after the signing of the Dayton Accords -- the six months after December 14.

Q But you can train up until that time?

MR. BURNS: The equipping can't begin until then. We have not yet --

Q The training continues?

MR. BURNS: I don't believe that we have yet made a decision about which contractor will be selected to run this organization, to run this effort. If I were in the Bosnian Government, I would look very carefully at Secretary Christopher's words, that all of this, of course, is contingent upon the Bosnian Government meeting its commitments.

As a result of the phone call yesterday, we expect those commitments to be met. That's the message we heard, and now we're waiting for actions.

Q The World Bank this morning, cutting to this threat, announced a $150 million loan in assistance for the Bosnian Government. The U.S. has a third of the votes there. How does that jive with your threat?

MR. BURNS: Secretary Christopher specifically mentioned equip and train efforts by the United States.

Q It's just equip and train?

MR. BURNS: I think what we said in general here, Sid -- and we said it yesterday and I'll be glad to say it again today -- if they want a normal, supportive, cooperative relationship, they can get that by meeting their commitments. If they don't meet their commitments, or if the Serbs don't meet their commitments or the Croatians, there will be consequences for American actions and American policy in the area.

We are accenting the negative here. I would prefer to accent the positive. There have been several hundred prisoners released. They need to release now several hundred more, and they have told us that they will do that. We're just going to have to expect and rely upon their word and the commitments they've made to us that that will happen.

We ought to just put our emphasis there. If in four or five months we're in a different position, we can talk about it.

Q But you did allow the World Bank loan to go through this morning?

MR. BURNS: Sid, I don't know anything about the World Bank loan. I don't know if the United States allowed the loan to go forward. We have a governor in the World Bank -- a United States governor. Most of these major loans do come up for a vote. I'm not familiar with the particular vote that was taken.

Secretary Christopher did not talk about World Bank loans. He talked about equip and train in his public comments on Monday evening.

Q Nick, the initial holdup in the prisoner exchange by the Bosnian Government was because they were looking for an accounting of up to 25,000 Muslims who were missing?

MR. BURNS: Yes.

Q Is that still their stated reason for not following through?

MR. BURNS: We were quite sympathetic to that request. We feel that the Bosnian Serbs have an obligation to meet it. The International Committee of the Red Cross has set up a working group to try to compile a list of the missing and to look into specific individual cases of the missing. We think that is an initiative that makes sense that the Bosnian Government should appreciate.

Assistant Secretary Shattuck had a hand in getting that result.

Q Can I go back to the first question in this line on Bosnia and the theoretical -- our real heighten state of alert? Not only relating to Muslim fighters who may still be there but to the man identified as Kevin Holt, an American. Do you have anything on him, and how that bears on whether or not -- is he a threat to American forces there?

MR. BURNS: Secretary Perry spoke to this morning. We understand that IFOR personnel have been asked to be on the alert for a gentleman who goes by the name of Kevin Holt -- H-O-L-T -- who is reportedly an American citizen and who reportedly has expressed sympathy for extremist causes.

You know that American military personnel in the area have spoke on the record about this -- that was in the New York Times this morning -- and Secretary Perry spoke on the record about it this morning.

Q Does the State Department have any information to add to that?

MR. BURNS: I don't believe we do. The information that we have is coming from the Pentagon. That's why I think the Pentagon is your best source on this particular story.

Q Do you know anything more than you did yesterday about other Americans who may have gone over there as fighters?

MR. BURNS: I don't. I asked the question. I don't know anything more if there are other Americans who are on the other side of this issue.

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(The briefing concluded at 2:07 p.m.) END