Fred the Red Shirt wrote:
"George Z. Bush" wrote in message
...
"Fred the Red Shirt" wrote in message
om...



NATO airstrikes in Bosnia were reported on Nightline, Sept 12,1995:



http://groups.google.com/groups?q=ai...num=1&filter=0

And here's the cruz of what is applicable from the above link:

"The United States and its NATO allies formally agreed to give the United
Nations
military plans for enforcing a no-fly zone over Bosnia that includes shooting
down Serbian warplanes."


Wrong. Those words do not appear in that article at all.

Here's an exerpt:

September 12, 1995

DAVE MARASH, ABC News: "Neither in sorrow nor in anger,
American pilots and their vast military support network
have taken up the task of bombing Serb separatist military
positions in Bosnia. Most of them launch from the vast
Aviano NATO air base north of Venice. This is their view of
what they're doing. While ground crews scramble at the 510th
Fighter Squadron, the self-named Bosnia Buzzards, lead man
``Psycho'' is briefing his wingman, ``Doc.''

Possibly the link was wrong. But what you provided also indicated a 1995
starting date, not 1992. Here's another extract from a speech made by our Secy
of State to the NATO foreign and defense ministers on December 5, 1995, where he
makes reference to preparing to take action.

"U.S. Department of State
95/12/05 Secretary NATO Intervention
Office of the Spokesman



U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman

(Brussels, Belgium)
December 5, 1995


INTERVENTION
BY
SECRETARY OF STATE WARREN CHRISTOPHER
AT THE MEETING OF NATO FOREIGN AND
DEFENSE MINISTERS ON BOSNIA


Mr. Acting Secretary-General, distinguished colleagues: It is a
great privilege for Secretary Perry and me to speak with you today on
behalf of the United States and President Clinton. For the first time
in NATO's history, all 16 of our foreign ministers and all 16 of our
defense ministers are meeting together. As we prepare to launch this
historic mission in Bosnia, our Alliance has never been more united."

In addition, the following was extracted from an article by Jane Sharp entitled
"The West's Moral Failure" published in the Journal of the Atomic Scientists,
which substantiates Daddy Bush's reluctance to get involved in Bosnia at the end
of his term in 1992:

"During the early summer of 1991, when Serbia first invaded Slovenia and
Croatia, both of which sought independence from Yugoslavia, President George
Bush passed the responsibility for resolving the Yugoslav crisis to the 12
countries of the European Community (EC). In the absence of U.S. leadership,
however, the Europeans proved inept and uncertain. A year later, when Yugoslavia
had disintegrated into five separate states and Serbian atrocities in Bosnia
were reported, President Bush referred to the Bosnian conflict as a mere hiccup.
Even in early January 1993, Bush was still unwilling to intervene in Bosnia. He
had, however, sent troops to feed the starving in Somalia, and in two speeches
(at Texas A&M University and at West Point) he attempted to redefine policy on
intervention. In contrast to Weinberger, Bush did not limit the use of force to
the protection of vital national interests. He proposed that "military force may
not be the best way of safeguarding something vital, while using force might be
the best way to protect an interest that qualifies as important but less than
vital."

I think I'll rest my case right there. I still say that the starting date of any
meaningful intervention in Bosnia by the US occurred during Clinton's first term
of office. He gets credit if it worked out right, and blame if not. Bush Sr.
quite obviously was not involved.

George Z.