Under Pressure, Bush Calls for Bosnian ‘No-Fly’ Zone : Balkans: U.S. move, which signals a shift in position, could draw Washington and allies closer to conflict.

President Bush, overriding Pentagon doubts, joined the call Friday for a U.N. resolution creating a “no-fly” zone over Bosnia-Herzegovina, a step that could draw Washington and its allies into the ethnic war over the ruins of Yugoslavia.

Acknowledging that “savage violence persists in Bosnia,” Bush said the United States would join Western allies in asking the U.N. Security Council to ban all Serbian combat flights in Bosnian airspace.

“If asked by the U.N., the U.S. will participate in enforcement measures,” the President said in a statement.

The President also said that the United States will resume its participation in the airlift of relief supplies to the besieged capital of Sarajevo, effective today, and he announced additional assistance to help victims and refugees of the conflict prepare for winter.

The support for a no-fly zone like the one in place over northern and southern Iraq signals a shift in position by the Administration, which is under increasing pressure both at home and abroad to use military force to stop alleged atrocities by Serbia. Until now, it had pledged to use force only to protect the delivery of relief supplies.

But even if the council agrees to ground Serbian warplanes, the action would not, by itself, level the battlefield and end the brutal campaign of “ethnic cleansing” by Serbian militias.

Although air power plays a role in the Serbian attacks, most of the damage is done by artillery and ground troops, neither of which would be affected by a ban on warplanes. Only the Serbian side in the complex ethnic war has access to combat aircraft.

Turkey, Egypt and some other nations have called for military action to even the balance on the ground and stop the reported atrocities. At home, a disparate coalition of Republicans and Democrats is calling for the United States to stop “ethnic cleansing” with military force if no peaceful way can be found.

So far, the Administration has not wavered from its opposition to sending outside ground forces into the conflict. And, as a consequence of Washington’s status as the world’s only remaining superpower, U.S. objections effectively block action by any other country.

A Turkish diplomat said his government has lost hope that political measures and economic embargoes will stop the Serbs.

“I think some deterrence is needed,” the diplomat said. “Military intervention is not a nice word to pronounce, but in light of the killings, it is a strong option.”

But he added quickly: “Turkey cannot act alone. The Gulf War example showed us that there is always a need for joint action. The United States is the leading force in our time.”

Egyptian Foreign Minister Amir Moussa, talking to a seminar sponsored by the Brookings Institution in Washington, indicated that Cairo, too, is losing patience.

“If the Serbs continue to perpetrate aggression against the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the international community will have to take courageous action,” he said. “If we stood firm against (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein, then we have to stand firm against similar aggression anywhere in the world, even Europe.”

But Moussa said the Security Council must take the lead. And there is little chance that the council will act without U.S. support.

Bush’s decision to back a no-fly zone over Bosnia includes a threat to shoot down any Serbian planes that challenge the ban. During several weeks of internal debate, the State Department supported the proposal against the opposition of the Defense Department.

Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic said last week that a no-fly order would help to relieve the pressure on his beleaguered government. But it clearly will not prevent the sort of murder, torture and destruction of property that allegedly has marked the “ethnic cleansing” campaign.

The Administration’s reluctance to be drawn into the conflict has drawn fire on Capitol Hill from Republicans and Democrats who maintain that a superpower must take firmer action in the face of mounting evidence of atrocities reminiscent of Nazi-style genocide.

Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), who last June advocated military action to combat Serbian attacks, now admits that he has lost hope of any such action.

“Statements of our own government, most specifically Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, lead me to believe the United States will not be involved in military action in Yugoslavia in the near future,” Lugar told a recent news conference. “There are statements of other world leaders that would tend to indicate that they do not contemplate substantial military action, either.

“I have made suggestions . . . for specific military action that I thought might be effective in limiting Serbian aggression . . . but it’s apparent to me that those are not going to be carried forward either by our country or by the United Nations Security Council in the near future,” he said.

Lugar referred to a recent Powell interview with The New York Times in which the general said he is opposed to any sort of limited U.S. military action in the former Yugoslavia.

California Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo) asserted that a U.S. show of force could have persuaded Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to reverse course, probably without U.S. troops actually having to fire a shot.

“Since there are obviously no Winston Churchills in Europe in 1992 . . it was clearly the responsibility of the one global superpower to organize--not to undertake, but to organize--an international effort,” Lantos said.

Nevertheless, Administration officials argue that it does no good to threaten force unless there is a will to use it, something that could draw the United States into a quagmire even more difficult than the Vietnam War. Although the advocates of military action are more vocal at the moment, the Administration’s more cautious approach also enjoys substantial bipartisan support.