EUROPE : Bosnia Commander’s Record Belies Swashbuckling Image

Is Sir Michael Rose, the British lieutenant general chosen to command U.N. troops in Bosnia-Herzegovina, suited for the role, which he formally assumed this week?

Rose--tall, lean, witty and sardonic--is the former commander of the Special Air Service, Britain’s crack unconventional forces regiment. He also served in posts in Northern Ireland.

Now that veterans of World War II and the Korean War are past retirement age, Rose, 54, is one of the most decorated officers in the British military and is considered one of the brightest minds and stars in the force.

Given his swashbuckling reputation--at least in the press--Rose may appear an unlikely commander to replace Lt. Gen. Francis Briquemont, the Belgian who retired because of “exhaustion” as commander of U.N. troops in Bosnia. But military experts say appearances belie realities.

True, Rose may have been a commando commander. But he also has trained a generation of British officers in his posts as commandant of the School of Infantry and head of the Army Staff College. He is credited with introducing new ways of thinking about the military’s role.

As John Keegan, the distinguished military historian, said of Rose’s U.N. appointment: “At his rank--they needed a three-star general in Bosnia--he was the youngest and best general in the army. It’s as simple as that. In five years’ time, he will probably be considered for chief of staff.”

Col. Michael Dewar, the deputy director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies who has known the general since staff college, observed of Rose: “He has always been considered a thinker. His belief is that the military should be proactive, not reactive, that it should be thinking ahead of the game. He is also a man of tremendous energy, who is used to making do with the resources he has got. He is not going to do a Briquemont and sulk because he hasn’t got enough men. He will not become ‘exhausted’ in six months.”

British experts said Rose will be flexible enough to step up the pressure of the U.N. command in Bosnia, if ordered; he also could preside over the scaling down--or pullout--of British troops.

Rose was commander of United Kingdom Land Forces when selected to replace Briquemont, who resigned halfway through his tour after criticizing the U.N. headquarters for supplying insufficient reinforcements for the 12,000-member Bosnian contingent.

One senior official of the U.N. Protection Force, headquartered in the Croatian capital of Zagreb, speculated that Rose’s selection was intended to strengthen British influence among troops deployed in Bosnia. “The Brits have been complaining about the French getting out of control, in particular Cot,” the official said, referring to the mission commander, French Gen. Jean Cot, who has appealed for the authority to order air strikes--a power now held only by the U.N. secretary general.

Rose--whose fluency in French, colleagues said, will help him work well with French commanders--is respected among fellow European military officers, the official said, adding, however, that someone of Rose’s take-charge reputation and temperament might soon fall victim to the frustration rife in the Balkans mission.

Times staff writer Carol J. Williams contributed to this report from Zagreb.