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Cohen: Europe must contribute more to Bosnia mission
Threatens to pull U.S. troops
Latest developments:
Peacekeepers are scheduled to leave Bosnia in seven months December 2, 1997
- Says Europeans must do more
- Congress may balk
- Using European police rejected
Web posted at: 7:39 p.m. EST (0039 GMT)BRUSSELS, Belgium (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen warned NATO defense ministers Tuesday that if European countries don't contribute more to the peacekeeping effort in Bosnia, the United States may withdraw its troops.
"I think that we have done a great deal, and I think that the Europeans are going to have to do more in the way of financial support and from a personnel point of view," Cohen said.
His comments came after defense ministers of the 16-member organization agreed that NATO will probably keep a peacekeeping force in Bosnia into 1999. The ministers are meeting for two days of talks in Brussels.
NATO troops were supposed to leave Bosnia next June according to the terms of a United Nations mandate. But the ministers agreed that that continuing ethnic tensions in the region make that deadline unrealistic.
"I stress that there has been no decision on the follow-on force," said NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana. "We need to look clearly at the mission size."
NATO ordered military planners to draw up a range of options that carry well past the June deadline. At the moment, there are 34,000 troops in the area, 8,500 of them from the United States.
Congress may balk
Cohen met with NATO leaders in Brussels NATO military commanders have said they would like to know by March 1 what they may be asked to do next in Bosnia.
The United States says the range of options could include no force at all, but that is unlikely. It is agreed that Bosnia will continue to need military peacekeeping in some form for the foreseeable future.
A smaller force is expected to be approved, but Cohen said that while U.S. President Bill Clinton may be inclined to keep U.S. troops in Bosnia, his hands may be tied by a reluctant Congress unless he can show that others are doing their share.
The United States wants the Europeans to pay more money for training a local police force in Bosnia, which is vital to providing the stability that could eventually allow NATO peacekeeping troops to leave.
Of the $100 million needed for police training, the United States has contributed $30 million, six times as much as all other countries combined.
Using European police rejected
Diplomatic sources say that American suggestions that existing European paramilitary police forces, such as French gendarmes and Italian carabinieri, be deployed were rejected by the Europeans.
The United States is saying that there are no guarantees that U.S. troops will remain past June. But few here believe the United States will abandon its allies as long as there are no casualties and progress toward peace, however slow, continues in Bosnia.
Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre and Reuters contributed to this report.
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